EDITOR’S NOTE: This is part of a weekly series on our region’s history coordinated by the Trumbull County Historical Society.

In April, a resident of Champion reached out to the Trumbull County Historical Society regarding a Revolutionary War veteran believed to be buried in Champion Center Cemetery.

His interest began while researching his own family’s military history, which led him to wonder about veterans in his own community.

Through that work, he identified four Revolutionary War veterans buried in the cemetery.

While John Gordon was initially thought to be the only one of interest, further research revealed that he was, in fact, one of several, but uniquely, he is the only known Revolutionary War veteran in Champion Center Cemetery without a surviving headstone or marker.

Our initial work relied on limited documentation: a 1930s cemetery map created after his stone had already disappeared, and The Official Roster of the Soldiers of the American Revolution Buried in Ohio, which provides only a brief entry noting “John Gordon (Trumbull County). Born ? He served as a soldier in the Revolutionary War. He died ? and is buried at Champion Center Cemetery, Champion, Trumbull County, Ohio.”

The challenge was compounded by the presence of multiple men named John Gordon in Trumbull County during the early 19th century, with records that had been confused and conflated for decades. Even correspondence held at the Local History & Genealogy Center of the Trumbull County Public Library shows that descendants once sought clarification from genealogist Grace Winneagle, who engaged in extensive back-and-forth research without fully resolving the confusion.

The breakthrough came through John Gordon’s own Revolutionary War pension application, filed under the Act of June 7, 1832. In his sworn declaration made before the Court of Common Pleas in Trumbull County on March 20, 1833, Gordon stated he was 73 years old at the time, born in Ireland on March 17, 1760. He later settled in Salisbury Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, where he enlisted at approximately 18 years of age in the local militia under Captain Haymaker in the 2nd Battalion of the Lancaster County militia.

Gordon’s testimony describes a series of short militia tours early in the Revolutionary War, but his principal service came later, during a six-month and 27-day enlistment. During this period, he served as a private in a drafted militia company assigned to guard British prisoners held at Lancaster, Pennsylvania. These prisoners were part of the larger group captured following General John Burgoyne’s surrender at Saratoga in 1777 and later held under American guard.

According to Gordon’s recollection, his service began in the spring of 1781 when he was drafted as part of the militia’s third class. He first served under Captain William Shyles for approximately two months before command returned to Captain Haymaker for another two months. After Haymaker was injured and went home, Lieutenant Buffington assumed command for the remaining portion of the tour. Gordon stated that he served under these successive officers while stationed with the guard detail, which operated under higher command; he later recalled that it included Colonel Hubley and Colonel James Ross of Lancaster County.

One of the most vivid details in his declaration connects his service to a turning point in the war. While still stationed at Lancaster guarding prisoners, he remembered the arrival of news that Lord Cornwallis had surrendered at Yorktown in October 1781. He described the town’s reaction as one of celebration and illumination, noting that even the prisoner barracks were lit in recognition of the victory.

After completing his six month and 27-day term, Gordon was formally discharged, though he recalled receiving pay only for two months of his service and losing his discharge papers “by neglect or accident” in later years. Despite this, local officials and neighbors affirmed his service. His pension application was supported in court by Associate Judge Eli Baldwin and Commissioner John C. Woodruff, both of Boardman, who attested to his age, reputation, and recognition as a Revolutionary War soldier. The Court of Common Pleas ultimately agreed, declaring him a verified veteran under the 1832 pension law.

By the time of his application, Gordon was living in Boardman Township in Trumbull County, which was part of Ohio’s early Western Reserve settlement. Like many Revolutionary War veterans, he had relocated westward in the decades following the war, becoming part of the generation that helped establish Ohio’s early communities. His long life bridged two eras: the struggle for independence in colonial Pennsylvania and the settlement of frontier Ohio.

Although a cemetery map from the 1930s places his burial in Section 73, Grave 3 of Champion Center Cemetery, the exact location of his grave remains uncertain today. The original marker is no longer present, and no visible headstone survives to confirm the spot. This absence is what makes his case particularly significant among the veterans buried there.

With the details preserved in his pension file, however, John Gordon’s story is no longer lost to uncertainty. His own sworn testimony provides a clear record of his service, his movements, and even his memories of the Revolution’s final days. As research continues, there is hope that ground-penetrating radar and additional documentation may one day help identify his burial location, as well as his date of death, allowing for the possibility of marking his grave and formally recognizing his service alongside other Revolutionary War veterans resting in Champion Center Cemetery.