William Henry Pope, Patriot Number 350252

William Henry Pope was born in 1757 within the western reaches of the Colony of Virginia. At the time of his birth, this frontier region was part of the vast Augusta County (later organized as Fincastle County in 1772). This territory would eventually become the state of Kentucky. He passed away in 1840 in Camden County, Missouri.

Allee-Holman-Howe Funeral Home is incredibly honored to work with the Sons of the American Revolution to recognize this American Patriot. A US Military Monument and footstone will soon mark a space in Freedom Cemetery in Montreal, Missouri so people can pay their respects to William's service to this great nation. He is believed to be the only Revolutionary War Patriot interred in Camden County. We would like to thank the Sons of the American Revolution for the time and effort spent to find and verify William's history, and for their trust in us.

Service in the Continental Army

William Pope initially enlisted as a Private in the 10th North Carolina Regiment under Captain William Sheppard and Colonel Abraham Sheppard. After marching north to join General George Washington's army at Valley Forge during the winter of 1777-1778, he was transferred to the 2nd North Carolina Regiment under Captain Charles Stewart and Colonel John Patton.

He was present at the Battle of Monmouth (1778), where the Continental Army proved its professional training against British regulars. In late 1779, his unit was ordered south for the defense of South Carolina. Pope fought throughout the Siege of Charleston and was taken as a Prisoner of War when the city surrendered on May 12, 1780. Twelve days into his captivity, he successfully escaped and continued the fight as a volunteer in a "Company of Horse,” serving under the partisan commands of General Thomas Sumter, "The Carolina Gamecock,” and General Francis Marion, "Swamp Fox." In this company they would use Guerrilla Warfare, not a normal way of fighting at the time and would strike the British supply lines, ambushes, and hit and-run raids.

The Kentucky Years and the Move to the Deep South

Following the war, William returned to the District of Kentucky. In 1785, he married Jemimah Vardeman in Lincoln County. While they established their early life there, the family joined the great southern migration in the early 19th century. By 1810, William and Jemimah moved their households to Marion County, Mississippi.

The family remained in Mississippi for over 25 years. During the 1820s. William's sons, John and William Jr., were documented as heads of their own households in Marion County. William's presence there was formally recorded in the 1835 Federal Pension Roll, which confirms his residence in Mississippi as late as that year.

The Final Migration: Settling the Missouri Ozarks

Between 1835 and 1837, the Pope family performed their final migration, moving from Mississippi to the Missouri Ozarks. His son, John Pope, acted as the vanguard, arriving in the Wet Auglaize region as early as 1835 to establish the "Old Pope Mill."

By the late 1830s, William Henry Pope and Jemimah had settled in the Passover area of what was then Kinderhook (now Camden) County, Missouri (Township 39N, Range 15W). Living near the Grand Glaize and Wet Auglaize creeks, the veteran spent his final years surrounded by his children and grandchildren.

Legacy and Final Resting Place

William Henry Pope died in 1840 in the Passover settlement, a date confirmed by the final collection of his Revolutionary War pension. He was interred in an unmarked grave on the family settlement in Camden County which is now under the Lake of the Ozarks.

Visit sar.org for more information and please consider a donation in memorial to William.