When Moore Fauntleroy was born in 1716 at Naylor’s Hole in Lancaster County, the Fauntleroy name was already well known along the Rappahannock River. His great grandfather Moore, the immigrant, had been a sea captain who arrived prior to 1643 in upper Norfolk County. He acquired his first Virginia land as payment for bringing settlers from England. He was paid fifty acres of land per person for the safe arrival of his first nine passengers, but he then relinquished those rights to make good the patent on the south side of the river for 5,350 acres and also for 1,800 acres on the north side. He further expanded his holdings by a later controversial purchase of land from the Indians. Moore’s great grandfather had two sons, William and John. Moore’s father, William, married Apphia Bushrod who had Westmoreland connections. When Moore’s father, then Col. William Fauntleroy, died in 1757 at Mars Hill in Richmond County, Moore and his brother received a generous inheritance.
Up and down the Rappahannock the Fauntleroy family prospered, although nothing remains now of their earliest homes. Naylor’s Hole was between Cat Point Creek and Doctors Creek. In 1927 a bronze plaque was erected by Col Powell C. Fauntleroy on a monument made of the few bricks surviving from the original house. But the family, ever patriotic, removed the plaque in 1943 and had it melted and sold to benefit the World War II effort. Moore inherited his home known as “The Cliff’s Plantation” from his father, William. It was so named because it was near Cliff Creek which enters the Rappahannock between Brockenborough Creek and Carter’s Wharf. “The Cliffs” was fourteen miles up from Naylor’s Hole and eighteen miles from Warsaw. Moore also acquired an additional 1,698 acres. “The Cliffs” was still standing in the 1930’s, but abandoned, and has long since disappeared.
Captain Moore Fauntleroy is listed in the book entitled The One Hundred, by Jackson T. Main, as owning at his death over 5,000 acres of land in three counties and leaving 107 slaves. While his land holdings may have been confused with two other men named Moore Fauntleroy living in the 1780’s in Virginia, nonetheless he was a very wealthy man. I have read the inventory of his assets in his will with some amusement because not only do they indicate his prosperity, but hint at maybe his sense of humor. He lists two and one half pounds of chocolate, but he notes “not good.” He mentions many worn bed linens and cracked dishes.
We certainly know from others of our founders their conviction that our freedom is a divine gift which no one should deny us or try to take away from us. We also know that Moore served faithfully as a vestryman and warden in North Farnham Parish where he attended church. In fact The Rev. William Gibern, Rector of North Farnham, married one of Moore’s daughters who was his parishioner.
Moore married Anne Heale in 1736 and with her had two children, George and Ellen. Ellen married my ancestor William Sydnor in 1763. After Anne’s death, Moore married Elizabeth Mitchell in 1748. They had four children, three of whom died early with only their daughter, Susannah, surviving. Moore was to spend much time away from his family in the militia.
Moore was commissioned Captain in the Virginia Militia in 1741. While I could not find much about his service then, he did assemble a contingent of men which he escorted to
Fredericksburg then a rendezvous point for those who would be directed by George Washington in assisting General Braddock in the war for the possession of the northw
est.
Much detail about his lengthy service in the American Revolution can be found in the history researched by a reenactment company formed in New Jersey in 1994, which holds annual reenactments. [Visit their website at this link. Below is a photo of the regiment's reenactors in action.]
Near the end of 1776, the Continental Army realized the war was going to take longer than expected and changes were necessary. Short term enlistments were abandoned and recruits were sought who would join for three years or for “the war”, meaning the duration of the war.
Washington realized the need for a mounted branch. While initially authorized to raise 3,000 light horses, that number proved too expensive and eventually only four regiments of light dragoons were raised. The Fourth Continental Light Dragoons were authorized in January 1777. The command was given to Col. Stephen Moylan of Irish birth and resident of
Chester
Pennsylvania. Most of the officers came from
Maryland and
Virginia, which were horse raising areas. Appointments to the cavalry were eagerly sought and
Washington reserved spots for many friends.
Moore Fauntleroy began the war as an ensign in the 5th Virginia infantry regiment. He joined the Fourth Dragoons in the spring of 1777 as a captain in command of his troop. I can’t determine who had the idea, but in 1777 the regiment took to the field clothed in captured British uniforms of Red faced Blue. While they usually wore hunting shirts to cover them, on at least one occasion their plan turned against them and they drew what we would call friendly fire from American troops who thought they were indeed British. On the other hand, the red coats also confused the enemy and once a band of loyalists were captured who had mistaken the Fourth Dragoons for British Cavalry. The fourth Dragoons wore their red coats at the battles of Brandywine, Germantown, and Whitemarsh. Finally in the summer of 1778 the Fourth Dragoons received their new and distinctive Green faced Red uniforms which they retained until the end of 1781.
The Fourth Dragoons wintered at
Valley Forge where they shared the hardships and deprivations of that difficult time. Many became discouraged and disillusioned about the possibility of winning the war.
Moore was captured by the British at the Battle of Germantown on
October
4, 1777. In his book,
A People Numerous and Armed: Reflections on the Military Struggle for American Independence, John W. Shy hints that Moore had grown so disheartened about the war that he gave up some American military information in exchange for his release. According to Sgt. Major Don Waldo’s history of the Fourth Dragoons, his release may have been through a prisoner exchange. He returned to service on August 1, 1779, with a promotion to Major.
Moore was sixty-three years old as he faced the most intensive engagements of the Dragoons in 1779 and 1780. They were involved in countless small actions with British and Loyalist horse in the vicious warfare in the no- mans- land between the two armies.
In the spring of 1779, Congress decided that no new recruits were to be sought by the cavalry, since the regiments were too expensive to be maintained. By the summer this decision was reversed and the colonels of the dragoon regiments were instructed to attempt to recruit for their regiments with the understanding that those recruits were to serve on foot. In the spring of 1781 the mounted troupes of the Fourth Dragoon were in the van with General Lafayette’s Light Division, with the demounted dragoons marching with the main army.
By July the regiment counted only 116 men in all its ranks. In the spring of 1782 the mounted men in the unit were merged with the already amalgamated 1
st and 3rd Light Dragoons. Because of poor health, Col. Moylan resigned from the command of the Fourth Dragoon in early 1782 and what was left of the regiment was placed under the command of Major Fauntleroy. The regiment was reduced to one mounted and one dismounted troop and spent 1782 in
Yorktown. In December of 1782 the regiment was disbanded with the mounted being furloughed home and the dismounted absorbed into the Pennsylvania Line as infantry.
So
Moore then finally got to return to “The Cliffs” where he died in 1791. His burial site is unknown, but likely to have been at
Farnham
Church where he continued to worship until his death.
Today we salute Moore Fauntleroy, who sacrificed the comforts of his affluence for the preservation of our freedom.
Sources:
A Brief History of the Fourth Continental Light Dragoons (Captain Moore Fauntleroy’s Troop 1777-1782) by Sgt. Major Don Waldo (found online at http://foruthdragoons.com/History.html)
A People Numerous and Armed: Reflections on the Military Struggle for American Independence, by John W. Shy (William and Mary 2, Ser. 3v. p. 354, 1954)
Conversation with The Rev. Mike Malone, current Rector of North Farnham Parish.
The Sydnor Family Saga by Sydnor Thompson, Jr. Monarch Printers, Charlotte, North Carolina #00-135768, 2000)
Northern Neck Historical Society Magazines (the following are all pages numbers from the index which refer to Moore Fauntleroy: 37, 1257-1262 1607, 2073-74, 2446, 2558, 2563)