On this 19th day of November 1833 personally appeared before me John S. Camden a justice of the the Peace in and for Lewis County in the State of Virginia, Aquilla Roby a resident of Lewis County in the State of Virginia aged 73 on the 8th day of September 1833 who being first duly sworn according to law doth on his oath make the following declaration in order to obtain the benefit of the provision of the act of congress of 7 June 1832, that he entered the service of the United States under the following named officers and served as herein stated. That in the year 1777 he was drafted to serve a tour in the Maryland Militia for 3 months he was placed under Captain Luckett, Lieutenant James Wilkerson, was marched from Charles County in Maryland to Blandinsburg there joined Colonel Campbells regiment, was marched down the Severn River to a place called Annopolis, was stationed there and sometime in June had a skirmish with the British at that place, we had to retreat. He served from March till June under his draft and then forthwith volunteered for another 3 months under his same officers, was marched up the Chesepeake Bay to the mouth of the Patapsco River to a place called Bodkin Point from thence up to Baltimore. There sometime then marched down to North Point on the North side of Patapsco here he continued till in September the time for which he had volunteered having expired and the enemy being still in the bay he again forthwith volunteered for another term of three months under his same officers. He was kept at North Point and once up to Baltimore till his last time of engagement had expired when late in December he was discharged having served this year of 1777 full nine months as a private in the Maryland Militia. Again in March 1778 the enemy were again in the Chepeake [sic] Bay he again volunteered under Captain Brown for three months in a company of Maryland Militia. He marched from Charles County to Port Tobacco there joined the regiment under his former Col. Campbell was stationed there in March 1778 continued there one month. The enemy went out of the Potomac we marched across the country to the Pautuxent river and over on the southern side of that river to the Bay to the Point between the Potomac and the Bay then called Point Lookout here we were stationed until June when his time of engagement expired. He again forthwith volunteered under ins same officers for another term of 3 months in the Maryland Militia. Here he was continued till in September 1777 [1778] his other term of three months - when he agained renewed his engagement as a volunteer in the Maryland Militia under Captain Beckwith. The same Col. Campbell still continued here at Point Look out he was continued without any particular occurrence till late in December 1778 when he was discharged having this year served full nine months in three continuous engagements of 3 months each as a private, a volunteer in the Maryland Militia. Again in March 1779 the enemy again appeared in the Chesepeake Bay in March he again volunteered under Captain Nixon in a company of Maryland Militia for three months he was again marched to Point Look out there joined Col. Ridgely's regiment in May the enemy landed in Virginia and burnt Norfolk, Portsmouth and Suffolk in Va. Col Ridgeley was ordered over into Virginia crossed the Potomac marched down through Northumberland County into Lancaster County in Virginia down to Windmill Point, here his term of 3 months expired and he again volunteered for 3 months more in the Md. Ma. under ins same officers. The enemy passed up the Bay sometime after and we followed them. They went into the Potomac having failed in an attempt to land in Northumberland. We followed up into Westmoreland County where the enemy returned to the Bay we suspected them of designs on some point in Maryland along the Bay. We crossed the Potomac in Westmoreland and marched to the Patuxent. Here we crossed and continued up the Bay till we met Col. Howard at Annopolis. Here his second term of 3 months expired in Septr 1779 he again volunteered for another term of three months under the same officers and was continued watching the British along the Bay till in December 1779 when he was discharged by his captain having served this year 1779, more than nine months as a private in the Md. Ma. a volunteer. Again in May 1780 he volunteered for three months in a company of Maryland Ma. under Captain West as he now thinks in Charles County he was again marched to Point Look out and there joined Col. Luckett his former captain was stationed there till in August his term expired he was sick and discharged having served this year only three months as a private in the Md. Ma. a volunteer. Again in May 1781 he volunteered in a company of Charles County Md. Ma. to serve three months under his former Captain Nixon was marched down to Point Look out stayed there till Col. Campbell Joined them. Were then ordered across the Potomac into Virginia marched up into Spotsylvania County Va., there joined Genl. Lafayette, retreated up to the RappiDan river there joined General Wayne, marched agst Cornwallis he retreated, followed him into New Kent had a skirmish here his term expired he again volunteered for three months, passed on by Williamsburgh to Yorktown in Va. where in October 1781 the British surrendered. We guarded some of the prisoners to Winchester in Va. where in Nov. 1781 he was again discharged after in all three years service as a private in the Md. Ma. He has no documentry evidence he knows of no persons whose testimony he can procure who can testify to his services. He hereby relinquishes every claim whatever to a pension or annuity except the present and declares that his name is not on the pension roll of the agency of any state.
Subscibed and sworn to this day and year aforesaid,The several interrogatories prescribed by the War Department were propounded to the applicant which he answered as follows
1st That he was born on the 8th of Septr 1760 in Charles County in Maryland State
2nd That he has no record of his age
3rd That he was living in Charles County in Maryland from there m 1790 he removed to Pendleton County Va. Thence to Randolph and m 1819 to Lewis County Va. where he now lives 15 miles from Weston
4th That he was first drafted for three months then volunteered and the whole of his service which was full three years was as a [word cancelled] volunteer in the Md. Ma. a private in 1777, 78, 79, 80 & 81.
[Editor's note. An article on the Roby family of Lewis County has been promised for some future issue of the ARA.]
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