Benjamin O’Bannon: A Soldier’s Service

Benjamin O’Bannon: A Soldier’s Service

Compiled by Wendy Kay Smith

Virginia Draft Lottery

Sometimes life changes in unexpected ways, as it did for Benjamin O’Bannon when his name was drawn from the hat in the 1778 Virginia draft lottery and he was drafted into the Continental Army, becoming a private in Captain John Blackwell’s company.¹ In 1777, Virginia passed the Military Act that called for draft lotteries to be held in each county in Virginia.² All single, able-bodied, white men ages 16–60 would have their names placed in the hat and drawn out. Benjamin found out that day (February 18, 1778) that he would be joining others in the 3rd Regiment who had been in battle and were suffering a harsh winter with little food.³ Some of these men would be his neighbors and men that he knew.

Battle of Monmouth

He joined the regiment in Valley Forge and a short time later the regiment broke camp and headed to New Jersey in pursuit of the British.⁴ The cold of winter had long since gone, and they were now dealing with 100-degree temperatures. They caught up with and attacked the British in what would become the biggest battle of the war, the Battle of Monmouth (June 28, 1778). This would be Benjamin’s first battle, and he must have felt the weight of what was coming. He was wounded in the battle, and fifty-four years later, in his pension declaration, he said the memory of Monmouth was “indelibly impressed upon his memory for he carries upon his body a remembrance.”⁵

Promotion

After the battle, the regiment continued to march north and camped at Paramus, New Jersey, and then at White Plains, New York.⁶ It was in this time frame that two things happened: Benjamin was promoted to Sergeant (August 1778) and placed on guard duty,⁷ though the promotion proved temporary — muster records show him back to the rank of Private after three musters (November 1778).⁸

Bread Making

At one point, while the regiment was in the field (September 9, 1778), Benjamin was detached from his company and assigned to work with the Baker General, Christopher Ludwick, who had been given the task of supervising the creation of large ovens near the camps and baking bread for the soldiers.⁹ Each soldier was to have a pound of bread a day. Ludwick hired bakers to bake the bread, and the soldiers would rotate in helping with the manual labor of chopping wood, tending fires, hauling flour, and so on. This wasn’t a glamorous job, but one that was much needed, and so Benjamin did it.

Discharge and Pension

On February 28, 1779, Benjamin was discharged at Middlebrook, New Jersey.¹⁰ He had taken part in many skirmishes as well as the Battle of Monmouth during his service. On Christmas Eve, December 24, 1832, he appeared before the court in Lincoln County, Kentucky, to declare for his pension.¹¹ His pension of $80 a year, commencing March 4, 1831, was formally certified on October 17, 1833.¹² He passed away in Lincoln County, Kentucky, in 1838, at the age of seventy-nine.¹³

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Sources

1. NARA, M881, RG 93, “Obanion, Benjamin,” Compiled Military Service Record, 3rd Virginia Regiment, Capt. John Blackwell’s Company, entry showing draft February 18, 1778, Fold3, Roll 0955. ↩
2. Virginia General Assembly, “An Act for Recruiting this State’s Quota of Troops to Serve in the Continental Army” (Military Act), passed 1777; see also William Waller Hening, ed., The Statutes at Large; Being a Collection of All the Laws of Virginia, vol. 9 (Richmond, 1821). ↩
3. NARA, M881, RG 93, “Obanion, Benjamin,” Company Pay Roll for May 1778, 3rd Virginia Regiment, Time of Service: “Feb. 18 to June 1,” Whole Time of Service: “3 months 10 days,” Fold3, Roll 0955. ↩
4. NARA, M881, RG 93, “Obanion, Benjamin,” Muster Roll, dated Paramus [NJ], July 13, 1778, remark: “Drafted 18 Feby 1778,” Fold3, Roll 0955. On the Continental Army’s departure from Valley Forge on June 19, 1778, in pursuit of the British evacuating Philadelphia, and the Battle of Monmouth on June 28, 1778, see John B. Linn and William H. Egle, eds., Pennsylvania Archives, 2nd ser. (Harrisburg: Lane S. Hart, 1879–1893), vol. 11. ↩
5. NARA, Case Files of Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Applications Based on Revolutionary War Service, M804, RG 15; “O’Bannon, Benjamin,” Pension File S.4629, declaration sworn December 24, 1832, before the Lincoln County Court, Kentucky, Fold3 (https://www.fold3.com/file/25207265). O’Bannon’s claim of being wounded at Monmouth rests solely on this declaration; no muster card, casualty list, or hospital record has been found that independently confirms a wound. His unit — Blackwell’s Company, 3rd Virginia Regiment — is documented as part of the Continental force present at Monmouth, making his presence and account plausible, though not independently corroborated. ↩
6. NARA, M881, RG 93, “Obanion, Benjamin,” Muster Roll, dated Camp White Plains [NY], August 1778 (covering July), Fold3, Roll 0955. ↩
7. NARA, M881, RG 93, “Obanion, Benjamin,” Muster Roll, dated Camp White Plains, September 1, 1778 (covering August), rank shown as Sergeant, remark: “On guard,” Fold3, Roll 0955. Note: the corresponding pay roll for the same month lists him at the rank of Private, suggesting an unconfirmed or temporary appointment rather than a formally recorded promotion. ↩
8. NARA, M881, RG 93, “Obanion, Benjamin,” Muster Roll, dated Pompton Plains [NJ], December 1, 1778 (covering November), rank shown as Private, Fold3, Roll 0955. ↩
9. NARA, M881, RG 93, “Obanion, Benjamin,” Special Roll “agreeable to General orders,” dated September 9, 1778, rank: Private, remark: “On Comd [Command] Baker Genl,” Fold3, Roll 0955. On Christopher Ludwick’s role as Superintendent (“Baker General”) of Continental Army bakeries, see John F. Watson, Annals of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania in the Olden Time (Philadelphia, 1857); and the Christopher Ludwick biographical file, Pennsylvania Historical Society. ↩
10. NARA, M881, RG 93, “Obanion, Benjamin,” Pay Roll, January 1–March 1, 1779, remark: “Draft disch’d Feb 28, 1779”; and Muster Roll dated Middlebrook [NJ], March 4, 1779 (covering February), remark: “Disch’d Feb 28th 1779,” Fold3, Roll 0955. ↩
11. NARA, M804, RG 15, “O’Bannon, Benjamin,” Pension File S.4629, declaration sworn December 24, 1832, before the Lincoln County Court, Kentucky, Fold3. ↩
12. NARA, M804, RG 15, “O’Bannon, Benjamin,” Pension File S.4629, Summary Card of Pension Award: rate of $80 per annum commencing March 4, 1831; Certificate of Pension issued October 17, 1833; recorded Book 8, Vol. 7; Fold3. ↩
13. “Lincoln, Kentucky, United States records,” images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS5F-Z4SZ-B?view=explore : Jul 12, 2026), image 388 of 2415; Image Group Number: 008272326. ↩