In celebration of the 250th Anniversary of our country, local members of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution will highlight the patriots buried in Southeast Missouri.
Jesse Knighton was born circa 1750 in Montgomery County, Virginia. He died after March 24, 1831, in Jefferson County, Missouri.
Jesse Knighton was a Captain of Militia in North Carolina from 1779-1781. He served in the Rutherford County Regiment and North Carolina State Legion. Jesse participated in the Siege of Savannah, the Battle of Cowpens, the Battle of Guildford House, the Battle of Brick House and the Washington Expedition.
Around 1770, Jesse married Hannah, a Cherokee native in Surrey County, North Carolina. They had seven children: Jesse (Mary) (Indiana), Emma (Arkansas), Hannah (George Anderson) (Indiana), Sarah (Jonathan Cooper) (Kentucky), Ammon (Frances Cox) (Oregon), Permelia, Isaac (Jane Lankford) (Colorado).
Jesse also enlisted for the War of 1812, serving in DeClouet’s Regiment Louisiana Militia as a private. This regiment was involved in the defense of the state, particularly around the time of the Battle of New Orleans
In 1780, he received a land grant in Rowan County, North Carolina. By 1800, Jesse was residing in Salisbury, Stokes County, North Carolina. On May 16, 1808, he received a land grant of acreage in Muhlenbery County, Kentucky. He continued to live in North Carolina until around 1820. He moved with his family and stayed in Kentucky until the late 1820s. By 1830, Jesse Knighton was a resident of Plattin, Jefferson County, Missouri. He sold his Muhlenburg property to his son Ammon on March 26.1831. Jesse’s burial details are unknown at this time, but the last documentation for him occurs in 1831.
Sources:
NSDARA210245 www.dar.org
Southern Campaign American Revolution Pension Statements & Rosters
https://revwarapps.org/ (Mentioned in Rev. War pension of Meshack Davis R24747 and William Norris R7702.)
War of 1812: Microfilm M602, Roll box 119.
Ancestry.com
North Carolina, Land Grant Files, 1693-1960
**The Southern Theater of the American Revolution From 1775 to 1783
Updated July 26, 2024 • January 26, 2017https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/southern-theater-american-revolution
The Southern Theater of the Revolutionary War is often reduced to the battles of Camden, Cowpens, Guilford Courthouse, and Yorktown. In fact, fighting in the Southern colonies raged through the entire war and was an area of great concern for both sides. In the final years of the war, following the fall of Charleston to the British in May 1780, the South became the principal theater of the Revolutionary War. In addition to regular fighting between the armies, a civil war erupted between Patriots and Loyalists, with many small battles between militias raging throughout the countryside.
Compiled by Vera Mccullough, Louisiana Purchase Chapter, NSDAR
Art and additional information added by Pamela Johnson, John Guild Chapter.