Replies to post #115803 on Lehman Brothers Financial SA (LEHNQ)

[cottonisking]

JERSEYHAWG: Here is my best answer, DNA:

The pension application and service records for Nathaniel Hunt (born c. 1760, died 1849) provide a detailed account of his service in the Revolutionary War in the Southern Campaigns, particularly in South Carolina. He was the brother of the first state treasurer of North Carolina, Memucan Hunt.
The key information found in his records, specifically the Southern Campaigns Audited Accounts document SC4127, includes:
Military Service: He served in the South during the 1780s. He was involved in several major engagements, including the battles of Camden, Guilford Courthouse, Ninety-Six, and Eutaw Springs.
Rank/Role: Records mention him in connection with audited accounts (payment for services rendered), but specific continuous rank information is not detailed in the snippets.
Residency: He was a resident of South Carolina during his service and later moved to Texas, where he died in 1849.
Pension Details: He applied for a pension under the 1832 Act of Congress, which expanded benefits to militia and volunteer soldiers with a minimum of six months service. His application included a detailed narrative of his service, supported by testimony from witnesses.
Personal Information: The records help identify family connections. For example, some details are used to trace his descendants and their lineage.
You can access copies of Nathaniel Hunt's application and related documents online through the Southern Campaigns Revolutionary War Pension Applications & Rosters website or the National Archives website (microfilm publication M804).

Nathaniel Hunt's pension application and service records provide a detailed narrative of his involvement in several major battles and skirmishes in the Southern theater of the Revolutionary War. He primarily served in the militia of South Carolina and North Carolina (which was then Washington County, NC, but became part of Tennessee).
Battles and Engagements
According to his pension application (specifically Southern Campaigns Audited Accounts SC4127), Nathaniel Hunt participated in the following actions:
Battle of Camden (August 16, 1780).
Battle of Guilford Courthouse (March 15, 1781).
Siege of Ninety-Six (May 22 to June 18, 1781).
Battle of Eutaw Springs (September 8, 1781).
Various smaller skirmishes and tours of duty, including service with forces under General Nathanael Greene and General Francis Marion.
Role and Rank
Hunt's role throughout these engagements was that of a private and volunteer in the militia. The nature of militia service involved several distinct "tours" of duty rather than continuous service in the Continental Army.
He served several tours under different captains and colonels, including Captain Samuel Williams, Major Walton, and Colonel Sevier.
He performed general military duties, including being in the field and garrisoning posts during his various periods of service.
His service was recognized for a total of at least 11 months and 18 days, for which he was eventually granted a pension.
For more details, you can refer to the full pension documents online via the Southern Campaigns Revolutionary War Pension Applications & Rosters website.

The Siege of Ninety-Six (May 22 to June 19, 1781) was a pivotal engagement in the Southern Campaign of the Revolutionary War and the longest field siege of the entire conflict. Although the Patriot forces, including Nathaniel Hunt, ultimately failed to capture the fort, the strategic implications of the siege forced the British to abandon their last outpost in the South Carolina backcountry shortly thereafter.
Key Details
Location: The fortified village of Ninety Six, South Carolina, a critical trading crossroads and British stronghold in the backcountry.
Commanders:
American (Patriot): Major General Nathanael Greene.
British (Loyalist): Lieutenant Colonel John Harris Cruger.
Forces Involved:
American: Approximately 1,000–1,500 Continental Army troops and militia.
British: About 550 experienced Loyalist troops.
The Siege Operations
General Greene, an expert tactician in the Southern theater, began the siege with his chief engineer, the Polish volunteer Tadeusz Kosciuszko, employing formal European-style siege tactics.
Defenses: The British had constructed formidable defenses, including a large, star-shaped earthen redoubt called the Star Fort, surrounded by a ditch and an abatis (sharpened felled trees). A smaller redoubt protected their water supply.
Patriot Tactics: The Americans dug elaborate siege trenches (parallels) closer and closer to the fort. They also built a 30-foot tall wooden rifle tower, from which sharpshooters could fire down into the fort. They even began digging a tunnel, or mine, to place a powder charge under the Star Fort to breach the walls, a unique tactic for the war.
British Defense: Cruger's men frequently made daring nighttime sallies to disrupt the Patriot digging operations and managed to maintain control of their water supply. They also countered the rifle tower by raising the height of their own parapet with sandbags.
The Final Assault and Outcome
After nearly a month of siege, Greene received intelligence that a British relief column of 2,000 men under Lord Rawdon was marching from Charleston to reinforce the garrison. With time running out, Greene launched an all-out, premature assault on June 18.
The attack on the Star Fort was bloody and unsuccessful, with heavy Patriot casualties. British forces counterattacked with bayonets, driving the Americans back from the walls.
Greene was forced to break off the attack and retreated the following day, June 19, a tactical defeat for the Americans.
Despite the immediate British victory, Lord Rawdon soon realized that Ninety-Six was too isolated and difficult to defend in the face of growing Patriot activity in the backcountry. The British abandoned and burned the town on July 1, 1781, withdrawing their remaining forces to Charleston, effectively ceding control of the South Carolina interior to the Patriot cause. The site of the Star Fort is preserved today at the Ninety Six National Historic Site.