This week we will continue to look into the ancestors of Confederate Brigadier General Bull Paxton. If you remember from last week, Brig. General Paxton’s mother, Margaret (McNutt) Paxton of Rockbridge County, Virginia and Ann Glasgow of Adams County, Ohio were first cousins. Margaret’s father, Alexander McNutt and Ann’s mother, Rebekah (McNutt) McCorkle Glasgow were brother and sister.
General Bull Paxton’s maternal grandparents were Alexander and Rachel (Grigsby) McNutt. Bull Paxton’s great-grandfather was John Wallace Grigsby. John’s grandfather who was of Welch descent emigrated to America in 1660, with his brother and settled in Virginia. John Wallace Grigsby was the fourth child of Charles and Sarah (Wilkerson) Grigsby. John was born in 1720, in Stafford County, Virginia, and grew up on his father’s plantation. Before he was 20 years old, he had joined the first expeditionary forces from the colonies to sail and fight on foreign land. “Soldier John” as he was called, obtained his name during his service in the Battle of Cartagena (War of Jenkins’ Ear). Soldier John served in Lawrence Washington’s Company in the Battle of Cartagena in Columbia, South America, in March 1741. Lawrence Washington was the beloved older half-brother of General George Washington. Lawrence was a soldier and prominent landowner in colonial Virginia. He was a member of the colonial legislature representing Fairfax County and was chiefly responsible for establishing the town of Alexandria, Virginia, on the banks of the Potomac River in 1749. He was the first of the family to live in the Mount Vernon estate, which he named after his commanding officer in the War of Jenkins’ Ear, Admiral Edward Vernon. Geographically, the Grigsby plantation on the south bank of the Occoquan and Potomac rivers was in close proximity to Ferry Farm and lands across the Occoquan owned by Lawrence and father Augustine Washington. In those days of few residents on large areas of land they could well have been called neighbors.
In late 1739, the British Parliament decided to raise a “Regiment of Foot” (Infantry) in the American colonies, to be used in the West Indies for the war against Spain, known as the War of Jenkins’ Ear. The war between Britain and Spain was the result of a long-standing commercial tensions. The decision by England to use men from the colonies for their land force in their declared war with Spain, was the first time this had ever been done. Of the 3,600 men supplied by the colonies, Virginia supplied four companies of 100 men each. One of these companies was commanded by Lawrence Washington who had obtained his commission from the colonial ranking officers of the British Crown. The men who enlisted were to have the same rank and pay as British regulars and they were to be supplied with arms and uniforms. They were also promised a share of the booty if they were victorious. The men were to assemble in Annapolis, Maryland, for instructions and exercise in their military duties.
In the fall of 1740, they made sail to Columbia, South America. The Battle at Cartagena resulted in a major defeat for the British Army and Navy. Of the 3,600 American colonists who participated in this battle, most died of yellow fever, dysentery, and outright starvation. Within two
years they had returned to Virginia. Of the 3,600, only 300 returned home, including our John W. Grigsby, and Lawrence Washington. There is little evidence that indicated they received more than their uniform and the “experience” for their services. Lawrence Washington born in 1718, suffered from TB and died at Mt. Vernon in 1752, at the age of 34.
Next week we will continue with the story of “Soldier John”.