James Agens, my great, great, great, great grandfather, fought at Brandywine in the 4th Maryland Regiment.  His name was James Agens, although he served in the 4th Maryland under the name James Ragan.  He was a colorful character.  Born around 1751, he was apprenticed to a weaver in Edinburgh, Scotland at a young age, ran away at 14 and either enlisted or was “pressed” into the British Army, was sent to Boston with his regiment at the start of the Revolution, deserted, and joined the Americans.  He seems to have been completely illiterate, and signed his 1818 and 1820 pension declarations with an “X”.  He indicated that he enlisted in the 4th Maryland as James Ragens (actually Ragan, as noted above) to avoid confusion with other men who had similar names.  He served December 17, 1776 – December 16, 1779 with the 4th, and later served with the 5th New York Regiment under his own name (also spelled Agin, Agins, Aggins, Agan, Aggans, and Agent at various times).  In addition to Brandywine, he served at Germantown, Monmouth, Stony Point, a battle near Fort Stanwix, and the Yorktown campaign.  He was wounded by a musket ball at Monmouth and a bayonet at Stony Point.

SUBMITTED BY:
Don Johnston
Daj2701@aol.com
Relationship: My great, great, great, great grandfather