James Johnston (c. 1742 July 23, 1805) was an officer in the
Tryon County Regiment and
Lincoln County Regiment
The Lincoln County Regiment was a local militia in Lincoln County, North Carolina during the American Revolutionary. It was created by the North Carolina General Assembly of 1778 on February 8, 1779 at the same time that Lincoln County was created ...
s of the North Carolina militia in the
American Revolution
The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...
, a delegate to the
North Carolina Provincial Congress
The North Carolina Provincial Congresses were extra-legal unicameral legislative bodies formed in 1774 through 1776 by the people of the Province of North Carolina, independent of the British colonial government. There were five congresses. They ...
in 1776, and a state senator in 17801782.
Early life
Johnston was born in
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
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
Gaston County is a county in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 227,943. The county seat is Gastonia. Dallas served as the original county seat from 1846 until 1911.
Gaston County is included in the C ...
.
Military service
James Johnston was a Captain in the
Tryon County Regiment (1775-1779) and
Lincoln County Regiment
The Lincoln County Regiment was a local militia in Lincoln County, North Carolina during the American Revolutionary. It was created by the North Carolina General Assembly of 1778 on February 8, 1779 at the same time that Lincoln County was created ...
(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
The Battle of Great Cane Brake was a skirmish fought on December 22, 1775, during the American Revolutionary War in what was then Ninety-Six District, South Carolina, modern Greenville County.
Background
With the coming of the American Revolutio ...
in South Carolina on December 22, 1775, the
Snow Campaign
The Snow Campaign was one of the first major military operations of the American Revolutionary War in the southern colonies. An army of up to 3,000 Patriot militia under Colonel Richard Richardson marched against Loyalist recruiting centers in ...
in South Carolina from December 23 to 30, 1775, the
Cherokee Expedition The Cherokee Expedition, also known as Christie's Campaign, was a military offensive that occurred during the American Revolutionary War between American forces and Cherokee tribes allied to Great Britain.
The British encouraged and facilitated Che ...
in western North Carolina from August to November 1776, and the
Battle of Kings Mountain
The Battle of Kings Mountain was a military engagement between Patriot and Loyalist militias in South Carolina during the Southern Campaign of the American Revolutionary War, resulting in a decisive victory for the Patriots. The battle took plac ...
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.
He and his fellow captains had a complete victory over the
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
and
Tory
A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...
forces. His militia units became part of the
Salisbury District Brigade
The Salisbury District Brigade was an administrative division of the North Carolina militia during the American Revolutionary War (1776–1783). This unit was established by the Fourth North Carolina Provincial Congress on May 4, 1776, and disban ...
on May 4, 1776.
A 1877 publication by Hunter
reports that James Johnston was promoted to colonel in the North Carolina militia. He was an aide to General
Griffith Rutherford
Griffith Rutherford (c. 1721 – August 10, 1805) was an American military officer in the Revolutionary War, a political leader in North Carolina, and an important figure in the early history of the Southwest Territory and the state of Ten ...
and commanded a reserve unit at the
Battle of Ramseur's Mill
The Battle of Ramsour's Mill took place on June 20, 1780 in present-day Lincolnton, North Carolina, during the British campaign to gain control of the southern colonies in the American Revolutionary War. The number of fighters on each side of th ...
.
Political career and home
He was chosen as a delegate to the
North Carolina Provincial Congress
The North Carolina Provincial Congresses were extra-legal unicameral legislative bodies formed in 1774 through 1776 by the people of the Province of North Carolina, independent of the British colonial government. There were five congresses. They ...
, 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.
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.
He was a respected elder of his churchprobably the Goshen Presbyterian Church, which was the oldest in the area where he lived.
He died on July 23, 1805 in Lincoln County, North Carolina. He was buried on his farm at Oak Grove.
References
*
* , copied from C.L. Hunter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnston, James (Colonel)
Members of the North Carolina Provincial Congresses
North Carolina state senators
North Carolina militiamen in the American Revolution
People from Gaston County, North Carolina
Scottish emigrants to the United States
1740s births
1805 deaths