Cousins & Friends:

Many of us know William Mitchell Clay as the father of Mitchell Clay & 
father-in-law to Phoebe Belcher. William Mitchell Clay, born circa 1708-1710, 
was married to a woman whose given name was Martha. Some have said that her 
maiden name was Green while others have said it was Runyon. Both of these 
theories have since been disproved. Another possibility is that she was 
Martha Lewis, sister to Col. Charles Lewis & General Andrew Lewis. Both 
officers were participants in the Battle of Point Pleasant on 10 October 
1774, which has came to be called the first battle of the Revolutionary War.

William Mitchell Clay, some believe, fought at the Battle of Point Pleasant, 
was the first casualty of said battle & therefore the first to die in our 
Revolutionary War. He may have been a member of Col. John Fields' Company 
from Culpeper County, VA. However, there is no evidence linking William 
Mitchell Clay to Culpeper County. No ties whatsoever! 

William Mitchell Clay's sons Mitchell, David & Ezekiel were also at the 
historic Battle of Point Pleasant but in a different company. Their names 
have been found listed in militia units from both Fincastle & Bedford County, 
VA. So one might think that if William Mitchell Clay served, that it would 
have been with his sons.

In his writings John Stuart, both a participant in & historian of the Battle 
of Point Pleasant, mentioned, without benefit of a Christian name, a man 
called Clay. He went on to explain the circumstances of Clay's death just 
prior to the battle. Those that believe that William Mitchell Clay was the 
first casualty of the Revolutionary War base their beliefs on the writings of 
Stuart.

Robert Page, who runs a website entitled "The Life Of William Mitchell Clay" 
wrote the following in an E-mail to the Clay rootsweb list:

"In 1997, I wrote 'William Mitchell Clay apparently died on September 10, 
1774, while hunting deer for Col. John Field's company of independent 
Rangers. He was part of the unit assembled under Gen. Andrew Lewis traveling 
to Point Pleasant to participate in the impending battle. Though it is not 
clear why a 64 year old man would be making a 250 mile journey on foot, he 
earned the dubious distinction of becoming the unit's first casualty.' 

He continued on:

"I located the original source for the material found in Withers' book. Capt. 
John Stuart put his experiences into words some time after participating in 
Gen. Lewis' expedition. It is clear that Capt. Stuart was NOT an eyewitness 
to the death of the soldier he called Clay, yet this manuscript seems to be 
the sole source used to determine William Clay's participation. "

The book Robert Page is referring to is "Chronicles of Border Warfare," 
written by Alexander Scott Withers in 1895. (It was edited by Reuben Gold 
Thwaites.)

Evidence has been found showing that "William Clay" served in the 
Chesterfield County militia some 15 years prior to the Battle of Point 
Pleasant. Because of this prior military experience, William Mitchell Clay 
may have known Col. John Fields & joined his group as a result. That he may 
have been brother-in-law to Colonel Charles Lewis & General Andrew Lewis 
would also explain why a 64-66 year old man would be part of a unit heading 
to Point Pleasant to fight the Indians. Without proof at this time, much of 
this is just mere speculation.

Does anyone have any evidence that would link the Lewis family to William 
Mitchell Clay? Can anyone shed some light on William Mitchell Clay's service 
in the Revolutionary War? Did William Mitchell Clay have any ties to Culpeper 
County?

Please forgive the bombardment of questions. Thank you in advance for any 
information. I look forward to hearing from you & to learning more about 
William Mitchell Clay.

Sincerely,

Mike Peters
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