John Carter in the War of 1812
July 9th, 2015 | 
Author: 
I am the great-great-great granddaughter of one John Carter. Born in 1790, he came from Greene County, Tennessee and settled in Coles County, Illinois near Ashmore. He died there in 1841.
According to the Portrait and Biographical Album of Coles County written in 1887, John Carter served in Andrew Jackson’s army in the War of 1812, fighting the Creeks. An affidavit filed by his widow Mary in 1857 offers a little more information:
That she is the widow of John Carter deceased who was a private in the Company commanded by Captain Hyle or Register supposed to be in the commanded [sic] by Colonel Gibbs in the War of 1812. That her said husband was drafted at Greensville, Tenn on or about the 1st of February A. D. 1813 or 14 for the term of 3 months.
This week I visited the Tennessee State Library and Archives (http://www.tennessee.gov/tsla/history/military/1812reg.htm) online to look at the rosters for the Tennessee units in the War of 1812. They list only Colonels and Captains, not privates. I found no Colonel Gibbs or Captain Hyle, but I did see a Captain Register under the command of Colonel Samuel Bunch. This 2nd Regiment of East Tennessee included soldiers from Greene County.
The website provided a means to contact a librarian at the Archives for lookups of enlisted men. Within a day, I had a response. They sent me a copy of the page from Tennesseans In the War of 1812 by Byron and Samuel Sistler showing all Carters who served from Tennessee.
There were 15 men named John Carter on that list. None served under anyone name Hyle, Register, or Gibbs. Darn! This is never easy.
Yet a couple of entries do look promising:
- Carter, John, Pvt, Col Ewen Allison, Capt. Jacob Hoyal E TN Mil; joined from Capt. McPherson’s Co
- Carter, John, Pvt, Col S Bunch, Capt Geo McPherson, E TN Mil; joined from Capt Hoyle Co
The names Hoyal and Hoyle seem awfully similar to the name Hyle as remembered by Mary Carter. Both of these Captains served in the East Tennessee militia raised in my John Carter’s vicinity. I plan to order these John Carter service files from the National Archives to see if I can learn more about my ancestor’s service.
Posted in Genealogy