Moses Land

Moses Land

b. 1762, Halifax, VA • d. 16 Oct 1847, St. Clair, IL

• Rank: Private

• Service: Enlisted 13 July 1780 in Orange County, in the Regiment commanded by Colonel John Green, Virginia Line, to serve for 18 months.

• State: Virginia

• SAR Patriot #: P-232694

• Spouse: Charity Beshears

Revolutionary War veteran settled near Mascoutah

by John Meacham, visit laughwithjohn.wordpress.com

It's 2026 and the USA is celebrating the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain.

The movie “Young Washington,” which focuses on George Washington’s early life, particularly his experiences during the French and Indian War, is showing in theaters all across the country. Washington, of course, commanded the American army during the Revolution and served as the country's first president.

While Washington is deservedly known as the “Father of His Country,” thousands of ordinary, everyday Americans risked their lives and proved themselves extraordinary in the war. One such man was Moses Land who, like Washington, hailed from Virginia. Land, however, spent his remaining years after the war in St. Clair County, near Mascoutah.

Aaron Lands of Mascoutah, a candidate for membership in the Lewis & Clark Chapter of the Illinois Society of Sons of the American Revolution, portrayed his 5th great-grandfather during a Mascoutah cemetery walk. According to the Mascoutah Historical Society, Moses Land's burial site is unknown. The Daughters of the American Revolution have erected a monument to him in the Mascoutah City Cemetery.

Aaron Lands said his ancestor was born in Halifax County, Virginia in1764. Since Virginia was at that time a colony of Great Britain, Moses Land saw much dissatisfaction with British rule, Lands said.

“I was young when I enlisted in the Virginia Militia, having just turned 16 years of age,” Aaron quoted Moses as saying. “My first battle was at Guilford Courthouse, and I admit I was scared. There were 4,500 of us Americans under the command of General Nathaniel Greene and we outnumbered the 2,100-soldier force under the command of General Charles Cornwallis – and yet, disappointedly, we were defeated .”

However, the web site americanrevolution.org says the battle set the stage for the American victory at Yorktown.

“To sum up, though the Americans lost the Battle of Guilford Courthouse, the extent to which it depleted the British Army set in motion the final actions of the American Revolution, eventually allowing the Patriots to claim victory over the British Empire.”

In May and June of 1781, Land saw action at the siege of Ninety-Six. This town was the main crossroads in western South Carolina. The battle resulted in an important Loyalist victory.

Moses Land next served in the Battle of Eutaw Springs, which was fought on September 8, 1781. According to Wikipedia, this was the last major engagement of the conflict to be fought in the Carolinas. While both sides claimed a victory, the British lost strategically and were forced to abandon most of their conquests in the South.

Land married Charity Brashears in Guilford County, North Carolina on December 2, 1783. They traveled to Kentucky to start their family.

“From Kentucky, our family crossed the Ohio River and around the year 1810 we traveled northward into what would eventually become the state of Illinois to the local area named Turkey Hill, just west of Silver Creek,” Aaron Lands quoted Moses as saying, adding that he received 100 acres of bounty land for his service during the Revolution.

Aaron continued his history by reporting that Moses Land was an early supporter of statehood for Illinois and of the Turkey Hill school district. He said Moses and Charity had three daughters and seven sons and lived happily on their farm west of the Kaskaskia River between Mascoutah and Coulterville.

“Along with my sons, I farmed our land and happily lived there until I died in 1847 at the ripe old age of 85,” Aaron quoted Moses as saying. “My obituary states that I was 'an unassuming, chaste, humble and devoted Christian and it is a remarkable fact that he never took a dose of medicine in all his life.'”

For more by John Meacham, visit laughwithjohn.wordpress.com.