Revolutionary War soldier Samuel Caddall

Sharon Vickers Hardy

Historian, Pulaski County VA 250th Committee

Samuel Caddall came to America when he was just a young lad, he emigrated to this country in 1774. In 1780 he volunteered in the Second Virginia Regiment of the Line with Captain Paxton’s Company. He enlisted at Rockbridge County, Virginia. He fought in the Battle of Guilford Courthouse, the 2nd Battle of Camden and the Battle of Eutaw Springs. Samuel was discharged at Salisbury, North Carolina in 1782. He came back to Virginia after he was discharged, his name appears on the 1782 and 1784 Rockbridge County Personal Property Tax List. He appears next on the Montgomery County Personal Property Tax List 1787 and 1788. The exact date he moved from Rockbridge County is not known. Samuel married Nancy Ann Cecil on May 17, 1791 in Montgomery County.

Together they had nine children of which eight were girls. By 1800 Samuel was a prosperous farmer and blacksmith owning land in the Neck Creek area. He was known as an excellent craftsman and served many neighbors. He also shod horses, folks called his business “Caddall’s Smithy.”

In 1803 Samuel bought 500 acres, part of the 900 acres known as Thornspring. In an article written by Lloyd Mathews, he describes the log house that Samuel Caddall built on Thornspring Farm.

The house was very large and was built on a stone foundation. In the early 1900’s the log house was razed, leaving the stone foundation and basement. On the remaining foundation, a very large brick house was built. It was owned and occupied by the Painter and Perdue families (descendants of Samuel & Nancy Caddall) for many years. The brick home still stands today and is located across from Thornspring Golf Course.

Samuel Caddall passed away on October 13, 1832 (according to the family Bible) just two months after he had applied for a Revolutionary War pension. He is buried in his Thornspring Farm Cemetery or Caddall Cemetery as it is more commonly referred to.

In October 2007 Count Pulaski Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution and many of his descendants honored Samuel Caddall with a dedication ceremony and placed a Revolutionary War Soldier’s Patriot Marker on his grave. It was the 175th anniversary of his death.

The cemetery is located several hundred feet north of the original log house site, over looking hundreds of acres of beautiful pastures and mountains all around. One could see why Samuel Caddall chose this spot for his final resting place. For many years Lloyd and Geraldine Mathews were caretakers of the cemetery, they both have passed away. The cemetery had become overgrown with brambles and brush, some of the headstones are broken and there are multiple groundhog holes that need to be filled in. It still needs repairs and maintained (mowed & weed eated) on a regular basis. Samuel and Nancy Caddall have many descendants, some of the other names of families buried in the cemetery are Bateman, Davis, Hudson, Murheid, Morehead and Whitaker.

A new cemetery fund has been setup, donations are needed and greatly appreciated, for anyone that would like more information on how to donate, email caddall.cemetery@yahoo.com or call/ text (540) 320-1412.

Pulaski County formed a VA 250 Commemoration Committee in 2023. Established in 2020 by the General Assembly, the Virginia American Revolution 250 Commission (VA250) serves to commemorate the 250th Anniversary of the American Revolution, the Revolutionary War and the independence of the United States in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

One of the goals of the Pulaski VA 250 Committee is to recognize local Patriots who participated in the Revolutionary War. A project the committee is also working on is to locate the cemeteries and graves of these men and women who served.

Several have been found and are also in need of cleanup and repairs much like the Caddall Cemetery. Volunteers have recently been working on the Wysor Cemetery in Dublin.

Adam and son Henry (Weiser) Wysor participated in the Revolutionary War, both father and son are buried there. Volunteers are greatly needed and appreciated for the cemeteries that have been located in the county where Revolutionary War soldiers and family members are buried. For more information on the cemeteries and volunteering you can contact April Martin at the Wilderness Road Regional Museum in Newbern, Virginia, 540-674-4835 or email wrrm5240@gmail.com

Several events are being planned throughout the VA250 Commemoration in Pulaski County, an upcoming play, field trips this coming June for 4th and 5th graders to experience a Revolutionary Summer Camp, Loyalist Day and many more.

Events are posted on the Pulaski County VA 250th American Revolution Commemoration Committee and Wilderness Road Regional Museum Facebook pages.

More stories of local Revolutionary War Soldiers to come.