American Revolution.

The only confirmable involvement for our Shannon line at the time of the Revolution is either serving directly in a British unit or being charged by local officials with some kind of assistance to the British.   However, after the war, when all British loyalists had been chased out of the area, all of our Shannons acquired land grants based on their service to the Patriot cause, and continued to live among those who are known to have served in the Patriot forces in that very area.  In fact, men who are well known to have been leaders among the Patriots, Elijah Clarke, Benjamin Cleveland and Andrew Pickens were neighbors to the Shannons after the war.  All of them were well known Tory haters, who hung Tories almost on sight during the war.   Yet, Moses Shannon married  the granddaughter of Benjamin Cleveland.  

So, in my view, our Shannons did provide active service to the Patriot cause during the revolution, which was well known to those who lived in that area but simply was never recorded for posterity.   At the same time, like many others, they were caught up in the constant back and forth of military fortunes between the British and the Americans in that area.   Many had no choice but to serve whichever side had temporary local control of a region or be executed probably along with family members.  I think this is what we are seeing in the surviving records from that area.

The records for John and Owen have them serving in a British unit at a place known as ‘Ninety-Six’ on the South Carolina frontier, only 12 miles due north from where the Shannons had settled in Georgia.   However, there is another record for a John Shannon serving earlier in the 3^rd ‘Ranger’ regiment of the South Carolina Line.   This regiment was originally raised at Ninety-Six.   So, it seems curious that the name is associated with two different opposing military organizations at the same location.  I think it is probably our John Shannon served first with an American unit and then somehow becoming incorporated into a British unit. 

My speculation is that when the fort at Ninety-Six was built into a strong star fort by the British, many locals might have sent their families there for safety.  Perhaps John felt a greater sense of concern for his mother and younger siblings than for the patriot cause and volunteered to serve with the British for that purpose.     But why was he serving in South Carolina rather than in Georgia?  

Also, there is a Richard Shannon who also shows up in the 3^rd Regiment, but  does not appear later in any other record in that region.  The name Richard does not ever appear in our family, so not sure who this guy was.

These British war records are a bit strange, however.   They have John and Owen ‘serving on the Georgia frontier’ apparently by themselves between April and June of 1782. From December 1782 to February 1783, they are recorded as ‘prisoners among the rebels’. These dates are after the British surrender at Yorktown, Virginia. So, why were these two young men dispatched to the very area where their family lived, and then held as prisoners by the American forces?    There are no records from the American side of having prisoners by these names.  

There were other Shannon families living in Fairfield District and Orangeburg District, well to the east of Ninety-Six.   Our Shannons were the closest to that location, however, and much of the service of the 3^rd regiment was on the frontier of South Carolina where our John settled after the war near other known members of this regiment.   So, once again, it is easy to speculate that the John Shannon on both sides is our guy.