Joseph HOSKINS was a Captain in the Guilford County Militia in the Revolutionary War at the time of the Battle of Guilford Court House as shown by the application on 21 Febraury 1834 of Samuel RAYL, then living in Jefferson Co., Tennessee. RAYL stated "In the month of March 1781 day not recollected This Declarant was drafted at Guilford Court House by Captain Joseph HASKINS for a term of three months as a private soldier...Being a wheelright and Blacksmith, this Declarant was detailed from Captain HASKINS' company immediately after he was drafted..."(1) At the Battle of Guilford Court House, Cornwallis' lines were lined up even with Joseph HOSKINS house on both sides of it. The American troops had three lines, the first line consisting of North Carolina militia about 1/4 mile from Cornwallis' troops. Immediately between the two armies were Joseph Hoskins' cleared fields that had been previously planted in corn. When the British advanced, the American first line gave way, and most of the fighting took place east and a little north of Joseph HOSKINS land.(2) Joseph HOSKINS house was used by Cornwallis as his headquarters for the staging of the battle, and later as a hospital for the wounded of both sides. Evidence indicates approximately 100 casualties were buried immediately behind the house. Joseph HOSKINS house still stands, and the interior has been restored to how it may have appeared in 1781.(3) It is located in Tannebaum Park, just outside the Guilford Courthouse National Military Park, and maintained by the Greensboro Parks and Recreation Department. Joseph HOSKINS b. 1751 Chester Co., PA d. 24 July-31 Aug. 1799 Guilford Co., NC; married Hanneh EVANS, children: 1. Elizabeth HOSKINS m. Willilam DENNIS 15 Sep. 1800 2. John HOSKINS b. ca. 1780; m. Mary; d. ca. 1859 3. Hannah HOSKINS m. Caleb JESSOP 27 July 1803 4. Eli HOSKINS b. 4 July 1785; m.1. Amy GOSSETT; m.2. Sarah SWAIN 22 Nov. 1836; d. 2 June 1852 Guilford Co., NC 5. Ann HOSKINS b. 10 July 1788; m.1. Jesse BALES/BEALS; m.2. Elias JESSOP 5 July 1820; d. 20 Mar 1875 Henry Co., IN 6. Joseph HOSKINS 7. Ellis HOSKINS b. 1796; m. Sarah (Sally) McCUISTON 6 Dec. 1821; d. 12 Mar. 1873 Guilford Co., NC 8. Mary HOSKINS m. Fleet HUNT 5 Oct. 1819
Notes: (1) The Guilford Genealogist, Vol. 14, No.1, Number 35, Fall 1986, p. 6. (2) Charles E. Hatch, Jr. The Battle of Guilford Courthouse (Washington D.C.: Office of History and Historic Architecture, Eastern Service Center, United States Department of the Interior National Park Service, 1971). (3) City of Greensboro Parks and Recreation Department, Tannenbaum Park Site of The Historic Hoskins House, (Greensboro, NC: City of Greensboro Parks and Recreation Department).

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