Capt James C. CHITWOOD, Sr. b. 12 Aug 1720 Northumberland, Virginia d. 14 Oct 1780 Executed by hanging at Kings Mountain, North Carolina: Carney and Wehofer Family History

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1720 - 1780 (60 years)

Name	James C. CHITWOOD [2]
Prefix	Capt
Suffix	Sr.
Born	12 Aug 1720	Northumberland, Virginia [2]
Christened	1724	Rutherford, North Carolina [2]
Gender	Male
Alt. Spelling of Last Name	[3, 4]
	Cheatwood
FamilySearch ID	LZ46-6BZ
MilitaryService	[3, 4]
	Officer In British Army
MilitaryService	North Carolina [3]
	Tory in Revolutionary War
Title	[3]
	Captain
_UID	E3DF951880BC41BFAD88901F3AE6F77F2516
Died	14 Oct 1780	Executed by hanging at Kings Mountain, North Carolina [2]
Buried	15 Oct 1780	Sunshine, Rutherford, North Carolina [2, 3]
Person ID	I296	Carney Wehofer Feb 2024 Genealogy
Last Modified	4 Jan 2023

Father	Matthias (Mathias) "Mathew" CHITWOOD, Sr., b. 1681, Hertfordshire, England , d. 27 Jan 1755, Powhatan Magisterial District, James City, Virginia, British Colonial America (Age 74 years)
Mother	Mary KEY, b. 12 May 1695, St Stephen's Parish, Northumberland, Virginia, British Colonial America , d. 27 Jan 1755, Powhatan, Richmond, Virginia, British Colonial America (Age 59 years)
Married	1711	Northumberland, Virginia, British Colonial America
Family ID	F1568	Group Sheet \| Family Chart

Family Alice ZIMMERMAN, Carpenter, b. 30 Apr 1724, Cumberland, Virginia , d. 1780, Rutherford, North Carolina (Age 55 years)

Married Abt 1748 Rutherford, North Carolina [4]

Children

	1. Isabella Elizabeth "Betsy" CHITWOOD, b. Abt 1748, Augusta, Virginia, British Colonial America , d. 28 Jan 1828, St. Louis, Louisiana Territory (Age ~ 80 years)
	2. James C. CHITWOOD, Jr, b. 21 Jun 1751, Cumberland, Cumberland, Virginia , d. 4 Feb 1834, Union, Georgia (Age 82 years)
	3. Catherine CHITWOOD, b. 1752, Virginia, British Colonial America , d. 1850, Missouri (Age 98 years)
	4. Moses CHITWOOD, b. 1754, Cumberland County, Virginia , d. 1841, DeKalb County, Alabama (Age 87 years)
	5. Shadrack CHITWOOD, Sr, b. Sep 1756, Cumberland County, Virginia , d. 1830, Lebanon, DeKalb, Alabama (Age ~ 73 years)
	6. Joshua CHITWOOD, Sr, b. 1758, Cumberland, Virginia, British Colonial America , d. 1820, Gallia, Ohio (Age 62 years)
	7. Joseph CHITWOOD, b. 1760, VA , d. Unknown
	8. Danial CHITWOOD, b. 1762, Rutherford, North Carolina , d. 1835, Habersham, Georgia (Age 73 years)
	9. Frances Ann CHITWOOD, b. Abt 1763, Anderson, Kentucky , d. 1803, Warren, Kentucky (Age ~ 40 years)
	10. Elizabeth CHITWOOD, b. 1765, Rutherford, North Carolina , d. Dec 1829, St Louis, St Louis, Missouri (Age 64 years)
	11. Seth CHITWOOD, b. 1766, Cumberland, Cumberland, Virginia, British Colonial America , d. 26 Aug 1850, Center, Ralls, Missouri (Age 84 years)
	12. John CHITWOOD, b. 1766, Virginia, British Colonial America , d. 18 Apr 1861, Franklin, Missouri (Age 95 years)
	13. Amos CHITWOOD, b. 1768, Cumberland County, Virginia , d. 10 Oct 1843, Kent, Jefferson, Indiana Territory (Age 75 years)

Last Modified 16 Dec 2022

Family ID F198 Group Sheet | Family Chart

Photos
Capt. James Chitwood Execution

Notes

Capt. James Chitwood, son of Matthias and Mary (Key) Chitwood and brother to Richard Chitwood, was a Tory during the Revolutionary War and was captured and hung after the battle of King's Mountain NC. "The names of the condemned Tories were --- Colonel Ambrose Mills, Capt. James Chitwood, Capt. Wilson, Capt. Walter Gilkey, Capt. Grimes, Lieutenant Lafferty, John McFall, John Bibby, and Augustine Hobbs.

They were swung off the Gallows Oak, three at a time, and left suspended at the place of execution. According to Lieutenant Allaire's acocunt, they died like soldiers --- like martyrs, in their own and friends' estimation. "These brave but unfortunate Loyalists', says Allaire, 'with their latest breath expressed their unutterable detestation of the Rebels, and of their base and infamous proceedings; and, as they were being turned off, extolled thier King and the British Government, Mills, Wilson, and Chitwood died like Romans.....The poor Loyalist leaders had been left swinging from the sturdy oak upon which they had been executed. No sooner had the Whigs moved off, than Mrs. Martha Bickerstaff, the wife of Capt. Aaron Bickerstaff who had served under Ferguson, and been mortally wounded at King's Mountain, with the assistance of an old man who worked on the farm, cut down the nine dead bodies. Eight of them were buried in a shallow trench, some two feet deep; while the remains of Capt. Chitwood were conveyed by some of his friends, on a plank, half a mile away to Benjamin Bickerstaff's, where they were interred on a hill still used as a grave-yard." Taken from the book "Kings Mountain and it's Heroes", by Lyman C. Draper
As depicted in the book Descendants of Matthias Chitwood compiled by I.O. Chitwood;

James Chitwood is the son of Matthias Chitwood and Mary Key.

James married Alice and they had 7 sons all born in VA;
1) James born 1752 who married Elizabeth Whiteside died in GA
2) Moses born 1754 and died in AL
3) Shadrack born 1756 who married Margaret and died in AL
4) Joshua born 1758 who married Jane Robinson in VA 1786
5) Joseph born in 1760
6) Pleasant born in 1765 and married Barbara Barnes in NC 1792 and died 1848 in TN
7) Amos born 1768 married Prudence Lattimore 1793 and died in 1843 in IN

James Chitwood was a Loyalist and Officer (Captain) during the Revolutionary War living in South Carolina.

As depicted in the book King's Mountain and its Heroes by Lyman C Draper;

The Battle of Kings Mountain (SC) was a decisive battle and turning point in the Southern Campaign of the American Revolution. British Officer Colonel Ferguson had taken up position on the top of the mountain with Loyalist militia from South Carolina but were overwhelmed in the battle on October 7, 1780 by Patriot militia "Over Mountain Men". Over 400 Loyalist were killed or wounded in the surprise attack by the Patriots. Ferguson was the only British soldier and he died in the battle that lasted about an hour. Over 600 were captured including 9 officers. One of those officers was Captain James Chitwood.

The Patriots retreated quickly with the prisoners north into NC. The set up camp and tried and sentenced 39 men to be executed in an infamous proceeding. Three at a time they were hung from a large oak tree known after as the Gallows Oak. Captain James Chitwood was in the first group of three to be hung. With nine hanging from the tree, and three more ready to go a disturbance occurred that caused the hanging to be discontinued and the remaining to be pardoned.

The men had been left swinging from the sturdy oak but as soon as the Patriot force moved off, the wife of Captain Biggerstaff (or Bickerstaff) who served under Ferguson and been mortality wounded at the battle, cut them down with the help of a farm hand. Eight were buried in a shallow trench and the remains of Captain Chitwood were taken to the Biggerstaff farm and interred on a hill there.

Find a Grave
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/183144161

Sources

[SAuth] Jim Carney, compiled by James H Carney [(E-ADDRESS), & MAILING ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE], Buderim, Queensland 4556 AUSTRALIA.
[S1160] FamilySearch Family Tree (http://www.familysearch.org), The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, ((http://www.familysearch.org)), accessed 13 Dec 2022), entry for Richard Chitwood, person ID KPQ1-MC1. (Reliability: 3).
[S1160] FamilySearch Family Tree (http://www.familysearch.org), The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, ((http://www.familysearch.org)), accessed 3 Jan 2022), entry for James CHITWOOD, person ID LZ46-6BZ. (Reliability: 3).
[S1160] FamilySearch Family Tree (http://www.familysearch.org), The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, ((http://www.familysearch.org)), accessed 13 Dec 2022), entry for James C. Chitwood, person ID LZ46-6BZ. (Reliability: 3).

Capt James C. CHITWOOD, Sr.[1]

Capt James C. CHITWOOD, Sr.^[1]