Tracking down the stories of Revolutionary War veterans can be a painstaking process, especially when the same man appears under several different spellings of his name. Take William Whicker, for example- sometimes recorded as “Witcher1,” “Whitcar2,” or even “Whitgar3.” These inconsistencies weren’t unusual in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, but they make the work of modern genealogists and historians difficult. Still, cross-referencing of service details, geographic clues, and family connections confirms that all those “Williams” are, in fact, the same soldier who once fought for independence.
To mark the United States’ 250th birthday, the Daughters of the American Revolution has joined forces with America250, the nationwide commemoration of our country’s semiquincentennial, to pay tribute to Revolutionary War Patriots. As part of the celebration, I’ll be sharing the stories of those laid to rest in Delaware County, with help from Kathi Hirons Kesterson -the regent of the Paul Revere Chapter of Muncie’s DAR– over the next several Fridays.
William Whicker was born on August 27, 1760, near Richmond in Hanover County, Virginia. Soon after his birth, the family moved to southern Virginia after securing a land grant. Eventually, Whicker relocated to Granville County, North Carolina, where he lived when the Revolutionary War broke out. At seventeen or eighteen, he joined the service without enlistment4 and served two months as First Sergeant in Captain Cuthbert Hutson’s company under General Richard Caswell5.
Whicker joined Caswell’s march to confront a band of Tories gathering at the Black Swamp in Granville County6. It was part of a larger struggle unfolding across North Carolina’s Piedmont, where patriot forces worked to stamp out loyalist uprisings threatening the Revolution from within. His service didn’t end there, though: around 1779, he volunteered again under Captain George Pearce in a three-month campaign through the backcountry of Randolph County, North Carolina. The troops set out to “attack and disperse” Dr. John Pyle’s band of Tories7. Unfortunately, the battle occurred before his company arrived at the scene. Whicker received a verbal discharge.
Whicker was called out again for a third tour as a volunteer or appointed private under Pearce and Colonel John Paisley during the summer of 1780. The company marched to join General Horatio Gates’ army and met retreating Virginia troops about a mile and a half from the battlefield at Camden. The regiment regrouped at New Providence on the Catawba River under General Davidson.
From there, Whicker marched to the Yadkin River at Sloan’s Ford, detaching with about three hundred other troops to attack and scatter the enemy at Shallow Ford. There, they “met the Tories about 300 strong & had a severe engagement in which the Tories were finally routed8.” After about three months, Whicker received another verbal discharge.
Whicker’s fourth and longest tour began in Guilford County, North Carolina, when he was drafted once again under Captain Pearce. From there, he marched south into South Carolina, joining General Nathanael Greene’s regiment and rising to the rank of First Sergeant. His company fought in the pivotal Battle of Eutaw Springs, though Whicker himself “was not engaged in it being at that time sick & was discharged in consequence of sickness before his time expired9.” Nevertheless, he was credited for serving a full twelve-month tour10.
After the war, Whicker married Sarah Bingaman, whom he’d met while stationed in Guilford County. Together they raised six children as Whicker made a living running a boarding house and distillery11. By about 1820, though, he headed north to Warren County, Ohio. It was there, in 1826, that he appeared before the Court of Common Pleas to apply for his Revolutionary War pension under the acts of 1818 and 182012. When asked why he’d waited so long to file, his answer revealed much about Whicker’s quiet character and his surroundings. Living near Waynesville, he explained, he was “in a neighborhood of Friend Quakers by whom the subject of the military service or pensions are seldom or never spoken of.” What’s more is that he had never heard of the law “for the support of indigent revolutionary soldiers” until recently. As soon as he learned of it, he said, he applied at once13.
When Whicker first filed his pension declaration, he was a sixty-six-year-old farmer worn down by rheumatism and the aches of advancing age. His property, valued at less than $200 in 1818, was modest- just enough to sustain himself and his ailing wife. Unfortunately, she passed away by the time he returned to court in 1826. The loss left him alone with little more than clothes, a bed, and memories of service and the land that had once supported them both14. Unfortunately, his pension request was denied.
Whicker moved to Fayette County to live with his son around 1830. Two years later, at seventy-one and nearly blind, he applied for a pension yet again. Unfortunately, he had no remaining written discharge for his service. Fifty-four years after he served, Whicker knew of no one who recalled his service except Daniel Cain, a resident of Greene County, Ohio, and William Whicker, Junior, a cousin or nephew whose testimony he produced at the courthouse15. This time, Whicker’s pension -$55 per year- was granted.
In 1834, William Whicker left Ohio and settled in Delaware County, Indiana, accompanied by his sons Asa and Luke and his daughter Susan. Six years later, the census listed him as an eighty-one-year-old pensioner living in Asa’s household. There, surrounded by his children and the landscape of his home near Albany, William Whicker lived out his remaining days. He died on November 2, 1851, at the age of ninety-one16 and was buried in Albany’s Strong Cemetery.
Piecing together the life of William Whicker is like following a thread through the fabric of early America. Although sometimes obscured by misspellings and lost records, his story reflects the perseverance of an ordinary man shaped by extraordinary times. Whicker’s four tours of duty spanned some of the most turbulent years of the American Revolution, and his postwar journey mirrored that of countless veterans who built new lives on the frontier.
In the end, William Whicker was more than a collection of different spellings on faded paper. He was a soldier, a husband, a father, and a pioneer who carried the legacy of independence with him from Virginia to North Carolina and from Ohio to Indiana. His story reminds us that the Revolution’s legacy wasn’t just written by generals or statesmen, but by the countless men and women who quietly built the nation that followed.
Sources Cited
1 Barnet, B. (1976, July 3). Pvt. Polen Watched Redcoats Quit on Grandest Day in World History. The Muncie Evening Press. p. 35.
2 William N Whitcar (n.d.). Findagrave. Web. Retrieved October 26, 2025.
3 Greene, D. (1972, October 31). Seen and Heard Our Neighborhood. The Muncie Star. p. 4.
4 Builders of a Nation (1910, May 4). The Muncie Star. p. 5.
5 “William Whicker,” pension no. S.3551, Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, 1800–1900; NARA microfilm publication M804, roll 2547; case file for veteran of North Carolina service; Record Group 15, Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs; National Archives, Washington, D.C. Digital image, Fold3 (https://www.fold3.com : accessed 22 October 2025); letter from the Bureau of Pensions to Mr. A. F. Fisher, dated 15 July 1929, summarizing service and pension details for William Whicker. Transcribed by Kathryn Kesterson.
6 (See footnote 4).
7 (See footnote 5).
8 (See footnote 5).
9 (See footnote 5).
10 (See footnote 5).
11 Builders of a Nation (1910, May 4). The Muncie Star. p. 5.
12 Revolutionary War Veteran and Widow Pensions (n.d.). National Park Service [Washington, D.C.]. Web. Retrieved October 29, 2025.
13 (See footnote 5).
14 (See footnote 5).
15 (See footnote 5).
16 (See footnote 11).
