Wren Grayson westport Indiana War of 1812
THE TENNESSEE CONNECTIONS
Of WREN GRAYSON, Sr.
by
Richard R. Grayson, M.D.
Written March 18, 1974
A letter written by Wren Grayson, Sr., dated April 6, 1847, has been discovered which proves that one of his brothers was Joseph Grayson of Marion County, Tenn. A second letter written by the sons of Wren Grayson, Sr., Wren Grayson, Jr., Henry Grayson, and Sanford Grayson - to "Dear Cousins" and kept in the family of Henry Grayson, the son of the Joseph Grayson above, corroborates that the Wren Grayson, Sr., above, was the Wren Grayson of Decatur county, Indiana. Furthermore, both letters state that they were written at "Westport" (Ind.) The second letter is dated May 1, 1842.
Letter number one above written by Wren Grayson, Sr., is directed to "Dear Nephew". The letter was in the hands of Henry Grayson, born Nov, 2, 1799, in Anderson country, Tennessee, the son of Joseph Grayson and Patsy Braizealle. Henry's son, Anderson Cheek Grayson, passed these and other letters down to his daughter, Myna Grayson, who is alive and lives with her daughter, Miss Bobbie Dykes, at 107 Brentwood Drive, Chattanooga, Tennessee. Miss Dykes owns the family Bible of henry Grayson that lists the birthdates of Henry and Nancy plus their nine children. She has transmitted this information to me.
Wren Grayson Sr., wrote the 1847 letter to his nephew, Henry, and, therefore, since Henry was the son of Joseph, Wren was the brother of Joseph. The letter by the sons of Wren, Sr., written to Joseph's son, Henry (and others), as cousins further substantiates the conclusion that Wren and Joseph were brothers.
When Joseph married Patty (Patsy, Elizabeth) Brazeale on Dec. 10, 1798, the bondsman was Henry Brazeale (Knox county, Tenn. marriages, p. 415). Joseph Grayson paid $500.00 to Henry Brazeale for 400 acres of land in Knox county, Tenn. on July(?) 20, 1801. (From copy of deed). Joseph Grayson also bought 400 acres of land from Stockley Donelson for $400.00 on April 24, 1801. (From copy of deed).
Joseph Grayson was appointed one of the commissioners to select a place on the north bank of the Clinch River, between Isaac Ford and Samuel Worthington's home, for a court house, prison, and stocks for the use of Anderson county, which was created out of Knox county.
The town was named Burrville, later changed to Clinton. The six other commissioners were William Lea, Kenza Johnson, William Standifer, William Robertson, Solomon Massengale, and Hugh Montgomery. The first court of pleas met in June, 1802, in the house of John Lieb, it continued to meet until the completion of the courthouse the following year. (from History of Anderson county, Tenn.).
Joseph and Patsy Grayson came to Bledsoe county during their son Henry's childhood, locating in the neighborhood of Stephen's chapel. Later the family moved to Marion county. Marion county was created out of the southern part of Bledsoe county in 1817 (Compendium of Biography, pub. by Ogle Co., 1898).
Joseph Grayson, Sr., was said to be a blacksmith and a farmer and of English descent. (Biography of William H. Grayson, p. 341 in the compendium above). He had two sons in addition to Henry (according to the History of North and West Texas, p. 105). They were Benjamin and Joseph Grayson, Jr. A land grant is recorded. (Tenn. Archives) #22329, made to a Joseph Grayson for 70 acres of land in Marion county, Tenn., on Aug. 5, 1824. This must be Joseph, Jr., as the father apparently died in 1822-23. His will was probated in 1823 and is in the hands of Miss Dykes. The 1830 census furthermore places his death before that census in that Patsy Grayson was listed as a widow and as the head of the household in Marion county age 50-59, with one man 20-29, one boy, three girls, and six slaves.
A Benjamin Grayson on April 5, 1824, claimed 90 acres of land in Marion county, the Sequatchie River next to the farm of Scott Terry. Was he the brother of Joseph Grayson, Sr.? There was a Benjamin Grayson in the 1830 Marion county census, possibly a brother to Joseph Grayson, Sr.: "Benjamin Grayson, oldest 15-19 (father away?); five boys under 20, one woman 40-49, two girls under eight slaves."
The two sons of Joseph Grayson, Sr., Benjamin and Joseph, Jr., "removed to where Joseph and his wife died, leaving a family of small children without support. Henry then went to that state and took the children back to Tennessee with him, caring for them until they were able to care for themselves." History of North and West Texas, p. 105).
Another Grayson was in the 1830 census in Marion county: Jessie Grayson, age 50-59,; three men over 19, three boys; one woman 50-59; three girls; ten slaves.
This undoubtedly is the same Jesse Grayson who signed the 1822-23 will of Joseph Grayson, as a witness, making it certain that they were related.
Since Jesse was born 1770-1780, and Joseph was born before 1777, the probability is that they were brothers.
Therefore, Wren Grayson, Sr., Joseph, Jesse, and probably Benjamin, all of Bledsoe and Marion county, were brothers; the first two proven, the last probably other brothers and two sisters of this group are suspected and are currently being traced through census and other records.
The father of Joseph and Wren Grayson, Sr. is not known. It is stated in the biography of James M. Grayson, one of the sons of Henry, that his grandfather was a Henry Grayson who came from England to Virginia. However, in this account an error is obvious, naming another Henry Grayson as the father of Henry Grayson who married Nancy Hixon, whereas we know conclusively that the father was Joseph. The suspicion remains, however, that if part of this account is correct we should look for a Henry Grayson as the father or grandfather of Joseph and Wren.
Henry Grayson was married Sept. 11, 1820, to Nancy Hixon of Bledsoe county. She was born in Green county, Tenn., July 22, 1799, died Nov. 10, 1881. Henry died Nov. 9, 1879. They had nine children:
1. Pleasant Grayson, b. Aug. 3, 1821.
2. Louiza Grayson, Aug. 3, 1823.
3. William H. Grayson, April 12, 1826.
4. Patrick H. Grayson, Sept. 4, 1828.
5. James M. Grayson, May 16, 1831.
6. Sarah C. Grayson, Jan. 24, 1834.
7. Houston Grayson, June 8, 1837.
8. Joseph A. Grayson April 24, 1839, d. July 1, 1840.
9. Anderson C. Grayson, Dec. 23. 1841.
(from the Henry Grayson family Bible through Miss Dykes).
Another piece of evidence linking Wren Grayson, St., to Joseph Grayson of Marion county, Tenn., and his descendants and other relations lies in an affidavit made by Wren Grayson in 1850 when he filed for bounty land due him for serving in the war of 1812. Part of the document is quoted below, and was obtained from the National Archives, in Washington, D.C.:
"State of Indiana, County of Decatur: On this 2nd day of November 1850 personally appeared before me a Justice of the Peace within and for the county and state aforesaid. Wren Grayson aged sixty year, a resident of the county and state aforesaid who being duly sworn according to law declare that he is the identical Wren Grayson who was a private in the company commanded by Captain James Tunnel in the Tennessee Regiment of Militia commanded by Colonel John Anderson in the war with Great Britain declared by the United States on the 18th day of June, 1812. That he was drafted at Knoxville in Knox county in the State of Tennessee on or about the first of September in the year of our Lord 1814 for the term of six months and continued in actual service in said war for the term of six months and was honorably discharged at Mobile in fort Charlotte, state of Alabama on or about the 20th of March, in the year of our Lord 1815. As will appear by the muster rolls of his company, the said Wren Grayson further states that he has lost his discharge above referred to by putting it in the hands of his brother Joseph Grayson who died shortly afterwards and never returned said discharge to the applicant which discharge is not now to be procured."
(Wren's brother Joseph Grayson died in either 1822 or 1823 as his will was probated in 1823. Wren Grayson left for Scott county Kentucky from Tennessee sometime during the decade 1820-1829. Possibly, he left before Joseph died, thus making it difficult for him to recover the discharge paper.)
The age of Wren Grayson was not 60 years in 1850 and is in error in the above document. Many other documents are at hand indicating that Wren was born sometime between 1780 and 1782. Therefore, he was 68-70 years old when he applied for his land bounty in 1850.
Notes:
Descendents of these Graysons with whom the author of this paper has spoken or corresponded so far (in early 1974) include:
1. Miss Bobbie Dykes, grand-daughter of Anderson Cheek Grayson, through Anderson's daughter Myna Grayson Dykes.
2. Hallie Grayson Barker (m. Paul Barker), the daughter of Joseph Grayson, the grand-daughter of William H. Grayson. Address 3613 Redding Road, Chattanooga, Tenn.
3. Miss Olive Grayson, Whitwell, Tenn., has brothers Roy and Oren Grayson; she is the daughter of William Grayson whose father was Marion Francis Grayson who was the son of William H. Grayson.
4. Otto P. Grayson, age 68, retired, in the field of public education and agriculture, son of James Moore Grayson, who was a son of Patrick H. Grayson. Address is Rt. 1, Whitwell, Tenn.
5. Frank W. Morrison, POB 462, Jasper, Tenn., states that E. Louisa Grayson, who married Joseph Burnette, is his grandmother four times removed.
6. Mrs. Lee Grayson, age 62, Rt. 1, Whitwell, Tenn. Her husband, Lee Grayson died age 81 in 1966 and they had no children. Lee was the eldest and only son of Joseph Anderson Grayson, who was the son of William H. Grayson.
7. Mrs. Walter C. Grayson, Rt. 1, Whitwell, Tenn. Her husband is deceased, was the son of William Grayson who was the son of Houston Grayson. They have 3 sons and 4 daughters.
8. Miss Mary Elizabeth Rogers, Rte 3, Box 21, Whitwell, Tenn. Her mother was Edith Hudson who married Mr. Shirley Rogers. Edith was the daughter of Nancy Elizabeth Grayson who married Eliza H. Hudson. Nancy was a daughter of Houston Grayson. Miss Rogers wrote the "Houston Grayson Family Tree" of Marion county, Tenn.
Miss Rogers further stated that Henry Grayson (b. 1799) had two sisters: Patsy Grayson married Joe Rogers and they had one son, James Anderson Rogers. Jane Grayson married John Bailey.
The Fredonia Church
The Fredonia Church grew out of a congregation which met during the
1820’s in the homes of the members. The Wren Grayson family settled in
1827 on the land now owned by William C. and Mabel Mattix Robbins. The
Felix Boicourt family settled one-half mile west of the Graysons in
April 1830. Members of these and other families formed the small
congregation which met in private homes.
Fexix Boicourt became a United Brethren Minister. He was received into
the United Brethren Conference in 1832 and became an ordained minister
in 1838. He is believed to have served the congregation for several
years before it was formally organized.
The Fredonia Church, which is located two and one-half miles south of
Westport, was formally organized in 1842 by Rev. F. Denoyer, and was
known as the Boicourt appointment. Felix Boicourt served as the first
minister, but died in 1842.
The first church did not stand where the present building stands.
The first church building stood somewhere on the forty-acre tract which
corners at the southwest corner of the intersection of the Range Line
Road and the third county road south of Westport. The property is now
owned by Arthur and Mary Catherine Hull McCullough.
In June 1846, David Boicourt made a deed for church ground to the church
trustees who were E. Boicourt, Joe Stonecypher, W. Grayson, James Clark
and Elihu Galloway.
The Masonic Lodge
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WREN GRAYSON, SR.
A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
BY RICHARD R. GRAYSON, M.D.
updated 28 August 2001
The progenitor of the Graysons of Madison, Indiana, and Decatur County, Indiana, was Wren
Grayson, Sr. He was born in North Carolina in 1782 and died in the home of his son, Sanford,
June 1st, 1865.
Timeline
Andrew Jackson wins Battle of New Orleans 1815, becomes national
hero.
The Treaty of Ghent, signed on December 24, 1814, in Ghent, Belgium,
ended the
War of 1812
"He (Wren Grayson, Sr.) served his country as a soldier in the War of
1812 and
was present at the fall of Mobile when that city was captured by the
British."
(from his obituary)
This was possibly Feb. 11th, 1815. Although the peace had been signed
the war
was continuing. At the end of January, 1815, the British decided to use
their
defeated New Orleans force to salvage something from their disastrous
expedition. They attacked Fort Bowyer at the mouth of Mobile Bay. On
the night
of the 7-8 Feb., 600 British troops were landed three miles east of Fort
Bowyer.
It was decided to avoid losses by erecting batteries in a position to
bombard
the fort. These were completed by the 11th, and the American garrison
surrendered. Wren was discharged from service May 3rd, 1815
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The American garrison consisted of less than 400 men along with a
small number
of women and children. (Was Wren among them???)
Before further operations could be carried out, Admiral Cochrane on
Feb. 13th
received news of the treaty of Ghent. Operations were suspended in
order to
await the news of the ratification of the treaty.
Andrew Jackson President 1828-1836. Andrew Jackson Grayson,
grandson of Wren, named after the President, born 1838.
Scotch-Irish
Wren, Sr. was Scotch-Irish, according to a news item about his grandson, John T. Grayson. Here
is the quotation from the news clipping: "Mr. (John T.) Grayson was seventy-six years of age
November 9, 1912, (b. 1836) he being born in Decatur county, Ind., his father being Wren Grayson
(jr.), a native of Tennessee and of Scotch-Irish parentage. His mother was Lucinda, daughter of
William Williamson, also of Tennessee."
I have one other hint as to the Graysons' national origin, and that was directly from Edna Freese,
daughter of Wren's great grandson (via John Wren Grayson>Andrew Jackson Grayson) William:
Edna told me (RRG) personally "Grandpa Grayson always said the Graysons came from Ireland
and the Lawrence's from Scotland", referring to Andrew's wife, Matilda Lawrence, my great
grandmother. Inasmuch as Andrew Jackson Grayson, the ex-printer and writer for the Madison
Courier was still alive at the time of John T. Grayson's news clipping (Andrew died 22 July 1913),
perhaps he was the source of the statement in the paragraph above that Wren Grayson, Sr. was
Scotch-Irish, or else the writer garbled the tale and confused the generations. There was an Owens
and a Cummins in the ancestral line also, either or both of which could have been Scottish or
Irish. Note however, that family tradition such as this is not proof until corroborated by
documentation of the origins of immigrants.
Scott County, KY
The earliest available document of Wren's life is a tax list for Scott County, Ky., dated April 27,
1805: "GRAYSON, WREN: 1 white male above 21. No slaves. 2 horses." No land was mentioned.
The tax lists do not show white females and therefore the presence of his first wife, Betsy nee
Owens, is not shown. Surprisingly, he was not on the tax lists for previous years (to 1794) and for
years after 1805. Other Scott County records are not extant because the courthouse burned with
all records in 1838.
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Wren Grayson, sr. was 23 years old in 1805 and possibly had migrated from Wilkes county, North
Carolina to Kentucky either on the Wilderness trail of Daniel Boone, who also came from North
Carolina, or down the Ohio River. Three years earlier the father of his future daughter-in-law,
Permelia, had arrived in Kentucky by way of the river. In the obituary of ANDREW CLARK
CUMMINS, who died Jan. 1st, 1864, at the residence of his son-in-law, John Wren Grayson, in
Madison, Ind., it was stated: "He passed down the Ohio River in 1802 and stopped this side of
Hanover and the men chased a deer."
Children
The first child of Wren and Betsy was born six months after the tax list mention. This was JOHN
WREN GRAYSON, born Nov. 2nd, 1805, in Scott County, Ky. John W. was the only one of eight
children of Wren to be born in Kentucky, and 25 years later John's first child, Rebecca, would be
the only grandchild of Wren to be born in Kentucky.
Let some of the next years fall directly from the pen of Wren's son, John Wren, whose brief
autobiography was included in his obituary published by the Madison Courier Feb. 1st, 1882:
John Wren Grayson
"I was born in Scott County, Ky., the second day of November, 1805. My father's name was Wren
Grayson and my mother's maiden name was Betsy Owens. I have six brothers and one sister:
brother Lewis died in childhood and another, Henry, died after raising a large family. My other
brothers are Wren and Sanford Grayson of Decatur County and Joseph and Benjamin Grayson of
Tipton County, Indiana, all men of honest repute among those who know them. My only and
beloved sister is Mrs. Nancy Hamilton, widow of William Hamilton of Decatur County.
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Bledsoe County, Tenn.
"In 1807, when I was two years of age, my parents moved to Tennessee and settled in Bledsoe
County. There I almost grew to manhood and was familiar with the scenes and incidents attendant
upon those early times, in adventures with Indians and wild animals in Sequatchie Valley and
upon the Cumberland mountains."
Why did Wren Grayson move to Tennessee in 1807? For one thing, the grass looked greener to a
great many people on the frontier at that time. Movement was common then as now, and if we
think that the mobile society with its future shock began with the automobile, we should re-read
the history of America. Bledsoe County was created at the time the Graysons were moving into it,
making them among the first settlers there. The county was formed by an act of the legislature
Nov. 20, 1807, from a part of Roane County and named in honor of Col. Anthony Bledsoe, a
Revolutionary hero and a judicial and military leader in the formation of the state of Tennessee
(1796).
By 1810 the population of this frontier county had grown to over 3,000 with more than 200 black
slaves. Bledsoe was the only county in the Sequatchie Valley all the way down to the Alabama line
until 1817 when Marion County was created at the lower end of the Valley. By 1820 the
population of Bledsoe County was 4,000 with 400 slaves.
A description of the settlement of Tennessee from a history of that state suggests the method
whereby Wren and Betsy with their little two-year-old arrived: "Home seekers poured in from the
Carolinas, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and even New England. They came with Revolutionary War
land-grants, either earned in service or purchased from veterans or speculators. Many of them
came simply as squatters. The old Wilderness Road and Avery's Trace were congested with
movers during the summer months - great top-heavy Conestoga wagons drawn by oxen, broadtired
farm wagons piled high with household goods, and crude sledges with runners of hickory or
oak; befrilled gentlemen astride blooded horses, rawboned farmers on hairy plow-nags,
immigrants too poor to afford horse or ox plodding through the dust clouds with their meager
belongings and children on their backs - all moving toward the promise of land in Tennessee.
Other thousands came by keelboats poled up the Cumberland and Tennessee from the Ohio."
Two other proofs of the Graysons' sojourn in Bledsoe County have been discovered: Wren signed
a petition in 1815 in Bledsoe County "to delay enactment of the Land Law during the war between
Great Britain and the United States" (his name was misspelled spelled Ren) and his name also
appears on a tax list for 1815. Again the fiery finger of fate inhibits our search for documents: the
Bledsoe County courthouse Pikeville burned with all its records in 1908 and the Marion County
courthouse where Wren conceivably could have had records burned in 1922.
We know that the family stayed in Tennessee at least through 1824 because the last of the
children, Sanford, was born in Tennessee that year as shown in later census schedules from
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Indiana. Sometime before 1829 they apparently left for Scott County, Ky. where that year John
married Permelia Cummins.
War of 1812
By the time four of their children had been born, namely John (1805), Henry (1808), Wren, Jr.
(1812), and Joseph (1814), the War of 1812 had come too close for Wren to stay out of it. He
traveled 100 miles to Knoxville at the age of 32 where he enlisted as a private on Sept. 13th, 1814.
He was in Capt. James Tunnel's company of the East Tennessee militia in the 3rd (Johnson's)
regiment.
Wren's obituary mentions that he was at the "Fall of Mobile". This was possibly Feb. 11th, 1815.
Although the peace had been signed the war was continuing. At the end of January, 1815, the
British decided to use their defeated New Orleans force to salvage something from their disastrous
expedition. They attacked Fort Bowyer at the mouth of Mobile Bay. On the night of the 7-8 Feb.,
600 British troops were landed three miles east of Fort Bowyer. It was decided to avoid losses by
erecting batteries in a position to bombard the fort. These were completed by the 11th, and the
American garrison surrendered. The American garrison consisted of less than 400 men along with
a small number of women and children.
Before further operations could be carried out, Admiral Cochrane on Feb. 13th received news of
the treaty of Ghent. Operations were suspended in order to await the news of the ratification of
the treaty.
Wren was discharged from service May 3rd, 1815, after serving 7 months and 20 days, including 6
days travel time. He was paid at the rate of $8.00 a month and received a total of $61.33. This
information is from copies of his military record on file in the National Archives.
Here is a rare and beautiful letter, a copy of which was given to me by a Tennessee cousin, Miss
Bobbie Dykes, of Chattanooga, written possibly in Wren Grayson, Sr.'s own handwriting from
Westport, Indiana to a nephew in Marion County, Tenn. in 1847: (Click on thumbnail below to
download large image.) The letter reads as follows:
"Westport 5th April 1847 Dear Nephew-- I take this as an opportunity to inform you that I am in
reasonable health. Hoping you are in a good state of health--I would like to see you and the rest of
my friends in that part of the country--As I am getting advanced in years and becoming quite feeble
And as I have a prospect of a Pension for my services in the last War. I wish you to intercede for me
in procuring a affidavit from some of my old soldiers that suffered the same that I did--certifying that
he was with me in the last War--I suppose some of them is living yet near you this being likely the last
time I shall ever have the opportunity of addressing you in this life--You will please attend to it as
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soon as you are convenient if you can get it accomplished. You will please enclose it in a letter to me.
But if you cannot find any of my old friends that was with me in the army I shall expect a immediate
letter in reply to this stating where they are all or some of them if there is not some of them yet living.
I am in haste, Your most dear uncle Wren Grayson Sr.
Details and excerpts regarding the fall of Fort Bowyer follow:
Timeline War of 1812
Timeline of the War of 1812 1809 President James Madison inaugurated, March 4 1811 War Congress
convenes, November 4 Battle of Tippecannoe, November 7 1812 United States declares war on Great Britain,
REGIMENTAL HISTORIES OF TENNESSEE UNITS DURING THE WAR OF 1812
COLONEL WILLIAM JOHNSON
l DESIGNATION: 3rd Regiment East Tennessee Militia
l DATES: September 1814 - May 1815
l MEN MOSTLY FROM: Knox, Claiborne, Greene, Jefferson, Anderson, Blount, Carter, Cocke,
Grainger, Hawkins, Rhea, Roane, and Sevier Counties
l CAPTAINS: Christopher Cook, Henry Hunter, Joseph Kirk, Andrew Lawson, Elihu Milikin, David
McKamy, Benjamin Powell, James R. Rogers, Joseph Scott, James Stewart, James Tunnell
BRIEF HISTORY:
Part of General Nathaniel Taylor's brigade, this unit of drafted militia (about 900 men) was mustered in at
Knoxville and marched to the vicinity of Mobile via Camp Ross (present-day Chattanooga), Fort Jackson,
Fort Claiborne, and Fort Montgomery. Along the way the men were used as road builders and wagon
guards. Many of them were stationed at Camp Mandeville (near Mobile) in February 1814, where there was
much disease. For example, the company of Captain Joseph Scott had thirty-one listed sick out of an
aggregate of 104 at the final muster.
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Ref:
Tennessee State Library and Archives
Historical and Genealogical Information
New Orleans, 23 December 1814 - 8 January 1815. On 20 December 1814 a force of about 10,000 British troops,
assembled in Jamaica, landed unopposed at the west end of Lake Borgne, some 15 miles from New Orleans,
preparatory to an attempt to seize the city and secure control of the lower Mississippi Valley. Advanced elements
pushed quickly toward the river, reaching Villere's Plantation on the left bank, 10 miles below New Orleans, on
23 December. In a swift counter-action, Maj. Gen. Andrew Jackson, American commander in the South, who had
only arrived in the city on 1 December, made a night attack on the British (23-24 December) with some 2,0000
men supported by fire from the gunboat Carolina. The British advance was checked, giving Jackson time to fall
back to a dry canal about five miles south of New Orleans, where he built a breastworks about a mile long, with
the right flank on the river and the left in a cypress swamp. A composite force of about 3,500 militia, regulars,
sailors, and others manned the American main line, with another 1,000 in reserve. A smaller force—perhaps
1,000 militia—under Brig. Gen. David Morgan defended the right bank of the river. Maj. Gen. Sir Edward
Pakenham, brother-in-law of the Duke of Wellington, arrived on 25 December to command the British operation.
He entrenched his troops and on 1 January 1815 fought an artillery duel in with the Americans outgunned the
British artillerists. Finally, at dawn on 8 January, Pakenham attempted a frontal assault on Jackson's breastworks
with 5,300 men, simultaneously sending a smaller force across the river to attack Morgan's defenses. The massed
fires of Jackson's troops, protected by earthworks reinforced with cotton bales, wrought havoc among
Pakenham's regulars as they advanced across the open ground in front of the American lines. In less than a half
hour the attack was repulsed. The British lost 291 killed, including Pakenham, 1,262 wounded, and 48 prisoners;
American losses on both sides of the 4iver were only 13 killed, 39 wounded, and 19 prisoners. The surviving
British troops withdrew to Lake Borgne and reembarked on 27 January for Mobile, where on 14 February they
learned that the Treaty of Ghent, ending the war, had been signed on 24 December 1814.
New Orleans: The Final Battle
The progress of the peace negotiations influenced the British to continue an operation that General Ross, before
his repulse and death at Baltimore, had been instructed to carry out, a descent upon the gulf coast to capture New
Orleans and possibly sever Louisiana from the United States. (See Map /7.) Major General Sir Edward Pakenham
was sent to America to take command of the expedition. On Christmas Day, 1814, Pakenham arrived at the
mouth of the Mississippi to find his troops disposed on a narrow isthmus below New Orleans between the
Mississippi River and a cypress swamp. They had landed two weeks earlier at a shallow lagoon some ten miles
east of New Orleans and had already fought one engagement. In this encounter, on December 23, General
Jackson, who had taken command of the defenses on December I, almost succeeded in cutting off an advance
detachment of 2,000 British, but after a 3-hour fight in which casualties on both sides were heavy, he was
compelled to retire behind fortifications covering New Orleans.
Opposite the British and behind a ditch stretching from the river to the swamp, Jackson had raised earthworks
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high enough to require scaling ladders for an assault. The defenses were manned by about 3,500 men with
another 1,000 in reserve. It was a varied group, composed of the 7th and 44th Infantry Regiments, Major Beale's
New Orleans Sharpshooters, LaCoste and Daquin's battalions of free Negroes, the Louisiana militia under
General David Morgan, a band of Choctaw Indians, the Baratorian pirates, and a motley battalion of fashionably
dressed sons and brothers of the New Orleans aristocracy. To support his defenses, Jackson had assembled more
than twenty pieces of artillery, including a battery of nine heavy guns on the opposite bank of the Mississippi.
After losing an artillery duel to the Americans on January 1, Pakenham decided on a frontal assault in
combination with an attack against the American troops on the west bank. The main assault was to be delivered
by about 5,300 men, while about boo men under Lt. Col. William Thornton were to cross the river and clear the
west bank. As the British columns appeared out of the early morning mist on January 8, they were met with
murderous fire, first from the artillery, then from the muskets and rifles of Jackson's infantry. Achieving mass
through firepower, the Americans mowed the British down by the hundreds. Pakenham and one other general
were killed and a third badly wounded. More than 2,000 of the British were casualties; the American losses were
trifling.
Suddenly, the battle on the west bank became critical. Jackson did not make adequate preparations to meet the
advance there until the British began their movement, but by then it was too late. The heavy guns of a battery
posted on the west bank were not placed to command an attack along that side of the river and only about 800
militia, divided in two groups a mile apart, were in position to oppose Thornton. The Americans resisted
stubbornly, inflicting greater losses than they suffered, but the British pressed on, routed them, and overran the
battery. Had the British continued their advance Jackson's position would have been critical, but Pakenham's
successor in command, appalled by the repulse of the main assault, ordered Thornton to withdraw from the west
bank and rejoin the main force. For ten days the shattered remnant of Pakenham's army remained in camp
unmolested by the Americans, then re-embarked and sailed away.
The British appeared off Mobile on February 8, confirming Jackson's fear that they planned an attack in that
quarter. They overwhelmed Fort Bowyer, a garrison manned by 360 Regulars at the entrance to Mobile
Harbor. Before they could attack the city itself, word arrived that a treaty had been signed at Ghent on Christmas
Eve, two weeks before the Battle of New Orleans.
The news of the peace settlement followed so closely on Jackson's triumph in New Orleans that the war as a
whole was popularly regarded in the United States as a great victory. Yet at best it was a draw. American strategy
had centered on the conquest of Canada and the harassment of British shipping; but the land campaign failed, and
during most of the war the Navy was bottled up behind a tight British blockade of the North American coast.
The American War
The first plan was to take Mobile, guarded by some 130 men, coming down on it from the north, and the British
were driven off. The British then decided to come up the river from the south. The defenders were under the
command of Andrew Jackson with a mixed lot of militia, and the 7th and 44th infantry. He undermined British
morale in a night attack, then withdrew to a line of fortifications along the river, with his flanks resting in
swamps. There he placed Indians, then some Tennessee and Kentucky militia, his Tennessee Rifles, the 44th
Infantry, two free Negro battalions, the New Orleans Volunteer Battalion, the 7th Infantry and the new Orleans
sharpshooters. Some Kentucky militia guarded the other side of the bank. He also had seven artillery brigades,
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including one of local pirates.
An artillery duel failed, and Pakenham decided on a frontal attack. The 95th Foot sent to take the other side of the
river. On the morning of 8th January, led by the 44th Foot his army appeared in front of the Americans works
and started across the muddy ground towards them. The Americans fired in four ranks, to keep up a perfect
stream of fire. The British attack was broken, although the 95th Foot was successful breaking the militia on the
ban. Pakenham was killed.
The shattered remnant of the British Army remained for ten days, then moved on Mobile again, this time
taking Fort Bowyer. But word of a treaty of peace arrived before they could move on the city itself. The war was
fought, but for what? None of the points which made the Americans declare war were even mentioned in the
peace treaty. All it proved was that American could not successfully invade and hold Canada, neither could the
British successfully invade and hold America.
Return to Kentucky
It is not easy to speculate why the Graysons left Tennessee to return to Kentucky, Perhaps some
day we shall know. Did they leave relatives in Tennessee? This question is of importance for future
genealogical research into Wren's origins. We have a clue passed to us from Mrs. Winslow Price
of Louisville. Her mother was Maude, daughter of Salathiel Grayson, who was one of John Wren
Grayson's three sons. Mrs. Price remembers her grandfather, Salathiel, b. 1837, d. 1916, saying
that when he was 11 (1848) "they. visited relations in Tennessee". This is a most tantalizing tale,
because we know from the census and other historical records that there were many other
Graysons in Bledsoe and Marion Counties. Even today many of their descendants still live in
Marion County where I met them on a visit.
In 1830 the Federal census for Scott County, Ky., showed two Grayson families and one Cummins
family grouped on the same enumerator's page and therefore neighbors:
ANDREW CUMMINS; male 1, 50-60; female 1; 50-60; 0 slaves JOHN GRAYSON: male 1, 20-30;
female 1, 20-30; 1 under 5; 0 slaves
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It is obvious from these first two census entries that John Wren Grayson, age 25 had married and
moved out of his father's (Wren) house. He moved to his own domicile near not only his parents'
home but also his in-law's house. Andrew Clark Cummins was living with his wife and no
children. We know from his obituary that there only one Cummins child, Permelia. We know also
from later records that the first child to be born to John and Permelia was Rebecca and thus we
can reconstruct the 1830 census and state categorically that John, Permelia, and baby Rebecca
were in Scott County.
Another interesting inference becomes possible regarding the name Rebecca. It is likely that
Rebecca, the baby, was named after John's stepmother. Therefore, despite the absence of
marriage records we can assume that Betsy Owens Grayson, wife of Wren, sr., died sometime
between son John's birth in 1805 and baby Rebecca's birth in 1830, giving Wren time to remarry
and John time to accept his new step-mother.
Two lines further down the enumerator's page in the 1830 census of Scott County, we find Wren's
name (misspelled Wriqn Grayson). According to both the 1830 and 1850 census, neither Wren, jr.
nor Rebecca could read or write. However, the power of attorney note Wren signed in 1815 is
signed in an experienced manner.
1830 Census, Scott County, Tenn.
WREN GRAYSON:
Males,
1 40-50 (Wren at age 48)
2 5-10 (Benjamin age 10, Sanford 6)
1 10-15 (Joseph 15-1-6)
1 15-20 (Wren, Jr., age 17)
Females,
1 40-50 (Rebecca age 41)
1 10-15 (Nancy age 11)
The one child not accounted for seems to be Henry Grayson, the second eldest. If his
age was correct in his death notice in 1862 (age 54) he was born in 1808 and
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therefore would have been 22 years old in the 1830 census. It is possible he had left
home to work elsewhere. A complicating factor, however, is that Wren Grayson, Jr.
stated in 1872 that he came to Decatur County, Ind., in 1827. He would have been
only 14 years old at the time.
Move to Indiana
When and why did the Graysons remove to Indiana? We know that everyone in all
in three households did in fact go to Indiana even including Andrew Cummins. In
regard to the question of when they moved, we have a number of fixed dates which
set the time before May, 1832.
Fact one: John and Permelia's second child, Sarah, was born in Indiana May 12th,
1832.
Fact two: Wren Grayson, Jr., age 20, married Lucinda Williamson Dec. 11, 1832; the
license was issued Dec. 3rd in Decatur county, Ind. He was the second of Wren's
children to marry.
If we assume that John and Permelia would have avoided a move during the latter
part of her second pregnancy, say the last five or six months, then it becomes possible
to speculate that the Graysons moved to Indiana during 1831.
The second question, why did they move to Indiana, can be answered only in broad
outlines. John Wren Grayson apparently decided to find his fortune in the largest
city in the Midwest, Madison, Indiana, while the others went 60 miles to the north of
that city to settle in Sandcreek township of Decatur County. Madison is in Jefferson
County. Whatever John did in Madison is not known, but he temporarily changed
his mind in 1836 and entered land near his brother on April 8th, 1836. On Oct.31st
of that year he registered his stock mark (brand), a swallowfork. The answer to the
question, then, seems to be that these Tennessee farmers went to Indiana for land.
In 1820 a new land law had been passed by the Congress called the Land Law of
1820. This act provided that public lands would be offered for cash at public auction
for not less than $1.25 per acre and that if any lands remained unsold after the
auction they could be sold at private sale for the minimum amount.
Decatur County, Indiana
Sandcreek Township, where the Graysons all lived for a time after John joined them
in 1836, was established in May, 1825. This township contains some excellent bottom
lands on Sand Creek which meanders through its entire length north and south. It
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also contains a large amount of level, rich land, some very hilly and broken, and also
some of the white, flat, poor woods land.
Decatur County was a new part of the American frontier - make no mistake about
that.
The first marriage and the first birth recorded were in 1819 a the first death in 1820.
The first brick house to be built in Sandcreek Township was in 1834. The completion
of that home must have been worth celebrating.
Nothing more is known of Wren Grayson and his wife, Rebecca, until the 1850
census when they were found living on the 9th October in dwelling 224. Their son
Sanford and family were in dwelling 225. Joseph Grayson and family and Benjamin
Grayson with his family in dwelling 226. All . were in Sandcreek Township,
including Wren, Jr., in dwelling 64. Son Henry was in Jennings County at this time,
and John Wren had moved back to Madison. The daughter, Nancy Hamilton, was
living next to brother Wren, Jr., in dwelling 65 with her husband and children.
Wren, Sr., was listed as age 68, farmer, born North Carolina. Rebecca was listed 61,
thus establishing for the first time her birth year as about 1789, born Virginia.
Westport
The Westport Baptist Church, according to the Rev. John N. Cassaday, was
constituted Jan. 4th, 1851. There were 24 charter members. Among these was Leticia
Grayson, probably Benjamin's wife. She was received into the church by baptism
and dismissed by letter in 1857.
Rebecca Grayson, three years before her death, was baptized in the Westport Baptist
church Jan. 5th, 1855. Wren Grayson's name is not found in the records of this
church. His son, Wren, Jr., however, was buried from the same church in 1887. John
Wren Grayson, who had been converted to the Presbyterian faith in Cumberland
church at age 17 in Tennessee, and his wife, Permelia are found in the records of the
Trinity United Methodist Church of Madison, Indiana.
Rebecca Grayson died "at an advanced age, near Westport, Ind., on Oct. 28, 1858"
according to an old newspaper account on file in the Indiana State Library in
Indianapolis. She was about 69 years of age.
Wren Grayson's location in the year 1860 has been found; he was living with his son
Joseph and their family in Decatur county, Indiana.
Recall that In 1850 Wren, sr. and wife Rebecca were living In their own household In
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Decatur county in dwelling 224 and that nearby lived sons Sanford, Benjamin,
Joseph, and Wren, Jr. John was in Madison, Henry lived In Jennings county In 1850.
In 1855 Rebecca, wife of Wren Grayson, sr., died leaving Wren alone. He then
moved in with son Joseph.
1860 census
Joseph Grayson 45 M Farming b Tenn.
Matilda 43 P KY
Rebecca 19 P Domestic Ind.
Thornton 13 M
Permelia 11 F
Nancy 9 F
Camarine 7 F
Ann E 4 F
WREN GRAYSON, Sr., 79 M N.C.
Note that Wren is listed as born in North Carolina as he was in the 1850 census, thus
confirming that fact.
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Above: photo of Wren Grayson, Sr.'s gravestone at Hoovermale (Wyanoose) cemetery, 4
miles north of Westport, Indiana. It says "Wren Grayson, S E Tenn. Mil. War 1812"
Obituary of Wren
No further records of Wren Grayson are available except for his obituary which
appeared in the Madison Courier June 3rd, 1865, on page 4, column 1. It was written
so poignantly I suspect that his grandson, Andrew Jackson Grayson, a printer and
writer for that newspaper, might have composed it:
"A letter from Sanford Grayson, Esq., dated at Westport, Decatur County, Ind.
informs us of the death of Mr. Wren Grayson at his home in that place on Thursday,
June 1865. The deceased was the father of John Grayson, sr., who is one of the old
inhabitants of Madison, and at the time of his death was eighty odd years of age,
nearly as old as the Declaration of Independence.
"He served his country as a soldier in the War of 1812 and was present at the fall of
Mobile when that city was captured by the British. He had in early life some thrilling
adventures as a pioneer set among the Indians, the wild animals of the forest, etc, but
he will relate those scenes to eager listeners no more; his earthly journey is ended
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forever, and many who loved him mourn."
AMEN
