Gun Powder Sam McSpadden

A Patriot of the American Revolution for VIRGINIA with the rank of PRIVATE. DAR Ancestor # A076498

Served in the Virginia Line. Claimed pension in 1832 with listed age of 78 in Jefferson Co. TN.

Along with brothers Archibald (84) Virginia Militia and Thomas (86) North Carolina Line.

Revolutionary War Veteran. He enlisted from Rockbridge County VA. He served under Capt. Campbell’s Company of Col. Dickerson’s Virginia Regiment and later in Capt. McDowell’s Company of Col. Donley’s Regiment. After the war he migrated to Jefferson County, where the ancestral home still stands on the banks of the French Broad River (now Douglas Lake). He was famous for making gun powder for Gen. Andrew Jackson for the Battle of New Orleans. The home is recognized by the Tennessee Historical Commission and identified by a historical marker containing this inscription:
Samuel McSpadden, powdermaker and Revolutionary War veteran, built this house in 1804, and died here on August 3, 1844. From a crude powder mill located 1/4 mile north he sent flatboats loaded with gunpowder to New Orleans, where General Andrew Jackson used it in the Battle of New Orleans, the last major battle of the War of 1812.

His first wife was Sarah Keys of Virginia who died shortly after giving birth to his first child (Child later died and buried in VA.) He later remarried Nancy Harris of Tennessee.

• Reference: MyHeritage Family Trees - SmartCopy: Mar 30 2021, 5:11:00 UTC
• https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/12715970/samuel-mcspadden.