The Hic-A-Sha-Ba-Ha Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution dedicated an NSDAR marker at the grave of Revolutionary War Capt. William Hillhouse Nov. 12 at Odd Fellows Cemetery in Starkville.
Chapter member and Mississippi State Society DAR First Vice Regent Hellen Hicks Polk gave the welcome and invocation. Chapter Treasurer Suzanne Worthington Walters led the group in The Pledge of Allegiance.
Polk gave a biography of Hillhouse at the ceremony. He was born March 18, 1760, near Land’s Ford on the Catawba River, in South Carolina, and entered the American Revolutionary War as a volunteer. His service to the country began in December 1775, under the command of Brigadier Gen. Richardson, in the regiment of Col. Thomas Neil, as a private soldier. He became a sergeant, in which capacity he served a short time, and was then elected lieutenant of the company.
Hillhouse was later called to face his country’s enemy at Rocky Mount, where his beloved Col. Neil was slain. Eight days after, he was in the battle of the Hanging Rock, in which his captain was severely wounded and rendered unfit for service. In the heat of the battle Hillhouse took command of the company. The following August the brigade to which he belonged was marched under the command of Gen. Nathanael Greene to Orangeburg, South Carolina. During this tour Hillhouse had the pleasure of knowing Gen. Greene and Colonels Washington and Lee.
Capt. Hillhouse left military service in October 1781.
During his application for pension, he stated to the War Department that the British Commander-in-Chief Lord Cornwallis, on his march to Virginia in January 1781, made Hillhouse Plantation his place of rendezvous for five days, stripping Hillhouse of all his possessions except the land which he could not destroy.
Following the Revolutionary War, the Hillhouse family relocated to Marengo County, Alabama, and then to Oktibbeha County where he died April 28, 1848, leaving three children. Hillhouse is the only known Revolutionary patriot buried in Starkville.
Chapter Regent Patricia Bryan Stuart and Chapter Chaplain Bettie Echols Cummings led those in attendance in the dedication of the marker with prayer and collective responses.
Stuart said, “The placing of this marker on Veterans Day weekend is an important event for Hic-A-Sha-Ba-Ha Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution. It is essential that we remember the sacrifices of those such as William Hillhouse and preserve this record of patriotic service for future generations.”
The NSDAR Historian General’s office grants final permission for DAR markers to be placed at graves of Revolutionary patriots.
The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution was founded in 1890 to promote historic preservation, education and patriotism. Its members are descended from patriots who won American independence during the Revolutionary War. To learn more, go to DAR.org or visit facebook.com/TodaysDAR, twitter.com/TodaysDAR and youtube.com/TodaysDAR.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 43 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.