James Nisbet - Celebrating a Patriot a Week During America250!

Patriot James Nisbet's tombstone is the only source for his birth date, February 27, 1765. His gravesite at the Grapevine Cemetery in Hopkins County, Kentucky includes an obelisk and a grave ledger, both with the same overall engraved message:

IN MEMORY OF JAMES NISBET SR 

SOLDIER OF THE REVOLUTION 

WHO DEPARTED THIS LIFE SEPT 28, 1845 

AGED 80 YEARS 7 MONTHS AND 1 DAY

Here's an image of the older obelisk with engraved message along with James' and his wife Jane's more recent grave ledgers lying adjacent. 

Below are the two grave ledgers, which must have been installed many years after the obelisk, followed by a close up of James' ledger engraving. 

The birth year of 1765 is consistent with the 1840 Hopkins County, Kentucky census for James Nisbet showing him as being between the ages of 70 and 79. Meaning, he would have been about 75 years of age when the 1840 census was taken. And we know that his birth took place in South Carolina as his son, also named James, gave South Carolina as the location of the birth for his father in the 1880 Hopkins County, Kentucky census. 

James Nisbet's Age & Service During the Revolutionary War

Given a birth date of February 27, 1765, James Nisbet would have been only 10 years of age on April 19, 1775 when the first shots of the Revolution were fired in Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts. The war continued to rage on across battlefields in the north and probably felt very distant to a young boy living in the Waxhaw District of South Carolina. However, there were many tensions between Loyalists and Patriots in the Waxhaw area. When James was 13 years of age, he began his service as a "horseman" in Captains Andrew Barry and John Nisbet's Companies as part of Colonel Benjamin Roebuck's Battalion, of the Spartan Regiment on May 16, 1778 as evidenced by the below "stub entry". This record is a receipt kept by South Carolina for a payment made to James Nisbet in 1786 for his services performed during the Revolutionary War. 

South Carolina Department of Archives and History

James' initial service as a "horseman" or member of the cavalry, probably began in response to what is known as the "Loyalist Exodus of 1778". The exodus involved a significant movement of Loyalists attempting to flee persecution by heading to East Florida (a British Territory in the south offering protection from Patriots). In response, South Carolina called up militias to patrol and prevent Loyalist movements in an attempt to end the exodus. Although May 16, 1778 corresponds to the timing of these efforts, specifics concerning James Nisbet's service in 1778 are unknown to this descendant. But what is clear is that James was only 13 years of age and may have performed duties that were considered "safe" by his older brother, Captain John Nisbet. 

We do know that James Nisbet served in one of the most distinguished and accomplished South Carolina militia regiments in the war, the Spartan Regiment. According to the above pay stub, Nisbet served in Colonel Benjamin Roebuck's Battalion of the Spartan Regiment, under Captains Andrew Barry and John Nisbet (most likely James' older brother).  Colonel Roebuck's Battalion is known to have fought in the battles of Musgrove's Mill, Kings Mountain (less than 50 miles from James' home in South Carolina), Cowpens which was against the notorious Lt. Col. Banastre Tarleton, Mud Lick Creek, Enoree River, and Watkins.  Which of these battles did James Nisbet participate in? The answer to that question is unknown at this time but may be found in the South Carolina Department of Archives and History within the service records which the above pay stub was based upon. It is also curious to note that the book Roster of South Carolina Patriots in the American Revolution by Moss described James Nesbit's service as:

He served thirty-nine days as a horseman under Capts. Andrew Barry, John Nesbit and Col. Roebuck 

from 16 May 1780 to 1 July 1781. A.A.5529; X3229

Notice that the years of service 1780 to 1781 are different than what is written on the pay stub stating1778 to 1781. The original records need to be checked to understand the differences. 

When General Lord Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown on October 19, 1781, Private James Nisbet was 16 years of age. Fighting for a cause he believed in at such a young age under the guidance of his older brother John, reminds me of Geoff Baggett's book Brothers and Warriors. Baggett based the book upon his ancestors who lived in the same general area as the Nisbets and fought in many of the same battles. 

copyright@2026 Deborah Thurman Parks