Latest / In Focus with Carolyn Hutcheson / Pike County Patriot - TPR's In Focus Nov. 11, 2026

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Pike County Patriot - TPR's In Focus Nov. 11, 2026 · In Focus with Carolyn Hutcheson

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  Support comes from Troy University's Trojan Cafe, offering handcrafted
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  Starbucks beverages and a wide assortment of meal and snack options,
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  located on Troy University's Montgomery campus across from the
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  Rosa Parks Library and Museum.
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  From Troy Public Radio, this is In Focus,
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  and I'm Carolyn Hutcheson. On Veterans Day, we bring you
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  the story of a Revolutionary War patriot who lived to
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  be over 100 years old, and he made his way
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  to Alabama. Genealogist Lynn Schlick researched
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  his story for the Echoes from Our Past series,
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  and she joins us from Tuscaloosa. The music you're
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  hearing is the President's March performed by
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  the U.S. Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps.
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  Lynn Schlick, welcome back to Troy Public Radio. Thank you
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  so much. It's always so nice to be back and tell stories.
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  Lynn, I take it you have a Veterans Day story.
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  Well, I have the remarkable story of Jim
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  Capers, and he was a Black Revolutionary War soldier,
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  and his history and his service
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  was almost forgotten. Where was he from?
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  He lived in Christ Church Parish in South
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  Carolina, and from South Carolina,
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  his path took him to Pike County, Alabama,
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  when he marched into the Pike County Probate
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  Court and filed his Revolutionary War pension
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  application. Because after many,
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  many years, he had never received his
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  pension. So how old was he when he marched into
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  the courthouse? Well, you might not believe
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  this, but he was 107
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  years old. And yet you say he was a
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  Revolutionary War patriot. Where?
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  Yes, he had a remarkable service. He marched
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  into battle as a drum major. He risked
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  his life. He suffered terrible wounds and survived one
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  of the bloodiest engagements of the American
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  Revolution. And then, after waiting nearly
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  3 quarters of a century, he still hadn't
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  received his soldier's pension. We have his own
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  words that were spoken in 1849
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  describing his Revolutionary War service,
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  and they are still preserved today in the Pike County
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  Courthouse, Pike County, Alabama. So can
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  you describe his service during the American Revolution?
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  According to his testimony, his military
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  service began in 1775, and that was the
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  year the first shots of the Revolution were
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  fired at Lexington and Concord. He served in
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  the 4th South Carolina Regiment as a drum
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  major. We often think of soldiers carrying
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  muskets and marching in formation and charging
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  across battlefields, but these military
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  musicians were also essential.
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  Their drums carried commands through the noise of
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  the battle. Their rhythms helped soldiers march and maneuver
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  and assemble and respond to their officers' orders.
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  That service placed him directly in harm's
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  way. Lynn, are you telling us that he was
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  there with the legendary Swamp Fox Francis
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  Marion in South Carolina? He certainly was,
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  at the Battle of Utah Springs. That battle took
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  place during the final months of the Revolutionary War's major
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  southern campaign. He also served with General
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  Nathanael Greene, who confronted the British troops,
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  and commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Stewart.
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  It was a fierce and bloody engagement, and he
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  was severely wounded. How did he make it from
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  South Carolina over to Pike County, Alabama?
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  What was the reason? At the time of his pension application,
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  Jim was living on a Pike County plantation and
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  was married to his enslaved wife,
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  Millie. Although it's not documented exactly
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  when or where he came into Alabama,
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  we do know that during this travel,
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  he was suffering from the effects of
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  this Revolutionary War service.
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  He had 2 saber wounds in his head.
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  He had another cut on his face,
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  and surprisingly, a musket ball passed
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  through his side and shot the drummer
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  that was standing beside him. He did survive this,
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  When he arrived in Pike
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  County, according to the 90 pages
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  relating to his pension application, the application
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  was submitted by Jim and also his wife,
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  Millie. This pension was supposed to commence on
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  the first day of August in 1850 at $8 a
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  month. There's nothing in the pension file to show
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  how this pension was allocated and
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  approved. It is suspected that the plantation owner,
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  a former state legislator, it is believed
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  that it was because of him that
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  Jim and his wife were able to receive this pension.
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  It was awarded at $8 a month effective on
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  August 1st, 1850, and there is a
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  record on file that she did receive $256.
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  However, he received this pension after
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  Jim passed away. This is an unbelievable story.
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  And look at all of his war wounds, and he lived to
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  be over 100 years old.
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  107 years old.
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  And I'd like to tell you why Jim Capers matters
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  today. Because stories like Jim invite
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  us to look more closely at the people who helped create our
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  nation. The participants were from different backgrounds,
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  different circumstances, and different communities.
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  And some were Black Americans, free and enslaved,
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  whose service helped to advance the cause of independence,
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  even while their own freedom remained uncertain.
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  And Jim Capers belongs in that history.
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  And his story reminds us that history is not always
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  found in grand monuments, famous speeches,
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  or the biographies of generals and presidents.
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  Sometimes it waits in an old courthouse record.
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  Sometimes it survives in a pension application like
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  Jim's. Lynn, where did you find the genealogy of
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  Jim Capers? This was found on familysearch.org,
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  and I think that Jim Capers could not have
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  imagined that people in Pike County and
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  communities throughout southeastern Alabama might
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  one day hear his name and remember his sacrifice.
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  I have read on the We the People website
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  that Pike County is noted for being the site
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  of the first documented burial of an African American Revolutionary
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  War soldier in the state of Alabama.
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  So you're talking about this patriot who was a drum major
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  with Francis Marion, the Swamp Fox.
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  He is certainly an echo from our past that needs
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  to be repeated. Lynn, thank you so much for sharing
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  this story on Veterans Day. Well, thank you. It was
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  such a pleasure to learn about his extraordinary life.
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  That was genealogist Lynn Schlick joining us
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  from Tuscaloosa for the Echoes from Our Past series with
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  the story of Jim Capers. Pike County Revolutionary
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  War patriot. Thanks for joining us on Veterans Day
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  for In Focus, which is a podcast wherever
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  you get your podcasts. Feel free to get in touch by email at
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  infocus@troy.edu.
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  The music you're hearing is from the U.S. Army Old Guard
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  Fife and Drum Corps. I'm Carolyn Hutcheson, and this
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  is listener-supported Troy Public Radio.