James Evans(1758-1843)

EVANS

Posted By: Ken Wright (email)
Date: 9/3/2008 at 16:36:07

Lee County Democrat, January 14, 1843:

OBITUARY

Another Revolutionary Hero Is Gone.

James Evans was born April 17, 1758, in Fairfax County, Virginia. At the commencement of the Revolutionary War he was living with his father at Mt. Vernon, then the residence of George Washington. Though only seventeen years old, when the tocsin of war sounded its alarms throughout the American Colonies; burning with youthful ardor and love of country, he volunteered his services, hastened to the field and cheerfully encountered the fate of a soldier. After serving under Col. Ramsey, of Alexandria, about nine months, he entered the Navy, where he remained several years, enduring hardships of every character; anxiously awaiting a triumphant communication of the laudable purposes of the American people. He was frequently advised to apply for a pension, but he as frequently refused, declaring that “he had not served his country for pecuniary reward.” He died in this place on the 4th of the present month at the advanced age of eighty-five; confidant that he had lived in the service of his country and his country’s God, he was dying to live again in a world of blessed immortality.