Benjamin Truax (Sr) and the Revolutionary War

Benjamin Truax (Senior) was one of the early settlers of Bethel, Pennsylvania. He arrived from New Jersey, before the Revolutionary War, and settled a homestead where his namesake, Benjamin Junior, would be born and live out his days.

There are no specific records of Benjamin's participation in the Revolutionary War. However, his name is recorded as having received pay for service in connection with the Continental Line.

What was the Continental Line? People of our generation commonly use the term "Revolutionary Army" to refer to the troops who fought against the British for American Independence. If you look at records from the late 1700’s, you find many references to "The Continental Line." The term apparently came from the concept that these troops provided a line of defense on this continent. Unfortunately, the term was not used uniformly. State militia used the term, hence the Virginia Line, but this term might also be found as The Virginia Continental Line, or The Continental Line of Virginia. Which troops do such references apply to, state or Continental? Because of this, references to a member of a “Line” might mean the Continental Army, or a state militia. Finally, it is often unclear if the writer meant troops who were infantry, cavalry, or an artillery unit. So we need more information to understand Benjamin’s role.

Available records for Benjamin do refer to him as part of the "Continental Line", and specifically mention his name as part of the “Continental Line Depreciation Pay” rolls, and as a member of Capt. James McKinney's Company Militia, of the 1st Battalion, of Bedford County.

The first record tells us that Benjamin definitely served in the Continental Line, and not a state militia (depreciation pay was not paid to state militia). The second record lists Benjamin under the heading “Eighth Class Not Call’d.” I do not know precisely what this means. Since the purpose of a Muster Roll was to identify who was still serving in the unit (for pay purposes), it seems reasonable to conclude that he was available for service, but was not required to report for this muster roll.