Stirring Up a Hornet's Nest: - UGA Laboratory of Archaeology ...

and Burwell Smith, Major; Commissions were accordingly made out and delivered” (Candler 2001). One
regiment of Georgia militia participated in the battle of Kettle Creek.
Colonel Dooly’s regiment in the battle was composed of two battalions, although they were never
described as such. Dooly commanded one of these battalions and Lieutenant Colonel Clarke commanded
the other. Dooly’s battalion consisted of at least five companies, commanded by Captains: Cunningham,
[John] Gunnels, Little, Nail, and Noble. Dooly’s second in command was Major Burwell Smith. Captain
James Little had been severely wounded a few days earlier in an engagement with Colonel Boyd’s
regiment on the Savannah River. Because of his wounds it is unlikely that Captain Little was able to
command his company at Kettle Creek, and it is uncertain whether he was actually present on the
battlefield.
Lieutenant Colonel Clarke’s battalion in the battle was composed of at least eight companies, commanded
by Captains: [John] Autry, [Alexander] Autry, Barber, Beckham, Burkes, Cartledge, and Williamson.
Researchers were unable to determine the identity of the remaining company commander. The pension
claim of Levin Watson, who served under Clarke’s command before and after Kettle Creek but not during,
noted that he [Watson] was in “the Horse Company Elijah Clarke’s Regiment.” Watson’s statement implies
that an entire company of Clarke’s command was mounted. Other companies under Clarke’s command
were also mounted militia, including Captain Burke’s company. The ratio of infantry to horsemen in the
Georgia militia in 1779 is a question deserving more consideration. It is quite likely that all of Clarke’s
troops were mounted at the battle of Kettle Creek.
Only a few rosters of the Wilkes County militia have survived from the Revolutionary War period. Lists of
soldiers in Major Burwell Smith and Captain Robert Carr’s companies provide a glimpse of how these
militia companies were organized and which families were linked to two of the company commanders.
Over the course of the war, the association of companies with Colonel John Dooly became a distant
memory and most veterans who made statements about their service in the Wilkes County militia identified
their commander as Lieutenant Colonel, Colonel, or General Elijah Clarke. Since John Dooly accepted a
parole in May, 1780 and was killed soon afterward, he had no role in the remaining years of the war. Elijah
Clarke, on the other hand, did not accept any parole and he commanded the Georgia militia in numerous
bloody campaigns after Kettle Creek. Clarke achieved a degree of notoriety and was well regarded by his
fellow soldiers. Their pride in being part of Clarke’s militia is reflected in their pension statements of the
1830s.
A preliminary list of soldiers in the Georgia militia who were almost certainly participants in the battle of
Kettle Creek is presented in Table 5. A more exhaustive list, which includes soldiers who were possibly
present and those whose status in the battle is undetermined, is provided in Appendix II.
Table 5. Georgia Militiamen Who Fought at Kettle Creek.
Name Rank Regiment/Battn. Company
John Dooly Col. Dooly's Battn. 2nd in command
Elijah Clark/Clarke Lt. Col. Clarke's Battn. 3rd in command
Benjamin Catchings Maj. Catchings' Co.
John Lindsey Maj. Clarke's Battn. Lindsey's Co.
Burwell Smith Maj. Dooly's Battn. Smith's Co.
Isham Burks/Burke Capt. Clarke's Battn. I. Burke's Co.
Joseph Collins Capt. Dooly's Battn. Collins' Co.
John Cunningham Capt. Cunningham's Co.
George Dooly Capt. Dooly's Battn. G. Dooly's Co.
William Freeman Capt. W. Freeman's Co.
Daniel Gunnells Capt. Clarke's Battn. D. Gunnell's Co.
Stephen Heard Capt. Dooly's Battn. S. Heard's Co.
James H. Little Capt. Little's Co.
William Martin Capt. Clarke's Battn. Martin's Co.
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