Trammell family honors their patriot ancestor

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By Jack Trammell SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON TIMES

When Americans are sent into the line of fire, they are the beneficiaries of a sophisticated network that supplies them with quality training, equipment and leadership. For soldiers fighting in the Southern theater of the American Revolution, such often was not the case. Instead, a soldier had to rely on his own wits and a very personal firearm.

Recently, my cousin Stephen Trammell followed by car the journey of Capt. Dennis Trammell, our ancestor from Amelia County, Va., who fought throughout the Southeast during his dramatic and often unpredictable Revolutionary War service.

Dennis was born in 1759 near Amelia Court House, Va., to Thomas Trammell and Elizabeth Sebastian Trammell, third-generation emigres from England who were modest farmers. The Trammell family had experienced ups and downs since arriving in Fairfax in 1671, when Dennis' great-grandfather, Thomas Sr., worked his indenture and then sued for freedom in court.

Dennis' grandfather, John Trammell, would be quite successful in Colonial politics and finances, accumulating lands that included the property sold to Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's family upon which they built Stratford Hall. However, by Dennis' time, the family had returned to modest means, and it is likely that Dennis grew up farming, hunting and interested in the growing tensions with Great Britain. When war broke out, he was among the first to volunteer.

Dennis, by all reports, was not one to sit still - ever - and in August 1777, he was in Georgia joining a militia unit under the command of Capt. Benjamin Ferris, which was stationed at Fulton's Fort on the Ogeechee River. When asked, at a postwar pension hearing, when his service officially began and ended, Dennis replied: "It was not an inquiry amongst the men of my company, when shall our tour of duty end. ... My brave companions in arms were fighting for liberty."

However, when a promised promotion to lieutenant was not honored, Dennis left for home after what was apparently an initial nine-month term of enlistment.

His father was by that time living in Orange County in North Carolina, and Dennis married while there in 1778 and then moved to South Carolina in February 1779. In the early summer of that year, he joined the service again, this time enlisting as militia captain of horsemen in Gen. Andrew Pickens' brigade.

As the British controlled Charleston for a long period of time and the countryside was rife with pockets of Tories (loyalists), Dennis and his men were on the move for the next two years, either to protect Patriot areas or to track down isolated enemy forces.

On one occasion, when Dennis attempted to return home to see his family, he was captured by Tories and forced to march as prisoner in the middle of the British army. In the dark of night, Dennis made a dramatic escape, though some Americans who refused to join him ended up back in Britain as prisoners of war. He soon rejoined his command in Rutherford County.

Dennis was witness to many amazing scenes during his military career, including a cousin who was pinned to the ground by a British saber, only to later chase down the offending officer on horseback and exact revenge. Dennis' men laid siege to Augusta, Ga., capturing it, and later he led them in dozens of engagements in the South Carolina highlands. At the critical Battle of Cowpens, Dennis was instrumental in choosing the ground for Gen. Daniel Morgan that led to American victory and helped turn the tide of the Revolutionary War against the British.

Richard Trammell, a grandson of Dennis, said a personal citation from Gen. Isaac Shelby "commending ... Dennis for his services" remained in hispossession for most of his adult life.

Dennis' company suffered significant casualties anchoring the right side of the American lines at Cowpens. However, all of the men knew the battle was critical. Morgan said to Trammell prior to the opening shots: "Captain, here is Morgan's grave or victory."

The battle on Jan. 17, 1781, was a stunning American victory, and Trammell was left behind to bury the dead and fend off raiders (Tories reportedly mutilated Patriot bodies).

After the war, Dennis continued to move, first through Georgia, then into Tennessee, and finally to a homestead along Capuchin Creek in what would become McCreary County, Ky. He spent the later years of his life with grandson Richard, a farmer. He married again in his old age, and his young wife later sued to receive part of his pension.

Today, descendants of Dennis Trammell are preparing to formally celebrate his patriotic service to the newborn American republic. Already officially recognized as a Revolutionary veteran by the federal government and the Sons and Daughters of the American Revolution, a ceremony will be held June 20 near Oneida, Tenn., where a monument to Dennis' military service will officially be unveiled near his final resting place. Spearheaded by Stephen Trammell and other descendants, the monument represents the work of many hours of research and networking.

"It has been an amazing journey," Stephen recently said.

Stephen, who currently resides in Michigan, has taken a wreath to be used at the dedication and carried it Southeast to various locales where Dennis Trammell served in the American Revolution. He has also gathered soil from key locations to be placed on Dennis' grave.

For more information, contact Stephen Trammell at sptrammell@hotsmail.com.

• Jack Trammell teaches at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Va. He can be reached at jacktrammell@yahoo.com.