Humble Beginnings

Matthew enlisted as a Private in VA in 1776 and again in July 1780, at which time his family lived in Charlotte Co., VA. In Sept 1781 he was wounded in the battle of Eutaw Springs when his collarbone was broken by a musket ball. He was taken captive by the British and was detained on the prison ship "Esk" at Charleston Harbor.He was taken captive by the British and was detained on the prison ship "Esk" at Charleston Harbor. On 4 Mar 1782: "Joshus Morris is appointed to furnish Elizabeth Cummings, the wife of Matthew Cummings, a poor soldier, belonging to the Continental Army, and now a prisoner of the British in Charles Town, with four bushels of corn and one hundred weight of bacon for the support of herself and three children for one year, to be paid for by the Treasurer of the State." [Virginia Military Records, Charlotte Co. Records, Page 125] Matthew was released in Nov 1782.
Under warrant #6,480 Matthew Cummings was issued Military Land Script for 200 acres as a soldier of the Virginia Continental Line. The script was assigned and delivered through Allen Latham. [Virginia General Land Office Records, 15 Nov 1834] Note: Matthew probably took possession of 200 in Lincoln Co., KY (formed from Kentucky Co., VA in 1780), the area were he lived becoming Lincoln Co., KY in 1786 and then Anderson Co., KY in 1827. He appears in a Lincoln Co . record in 1786.
He was a weaver by trade.