John Dickey (American Revolution)

Captain John Dickey (1724 – 1808) was a Revolutionary War soldier who led the outnumbered North Carolina Patriot militia during the Battle of Ramsour's Mill. The battle did not involve regular Army troops, but was fought between Americans who supported the Revolution and those who supported the King.

Early life
Born in Derry, Ireland about 1724, Dickey came to America with his parents, George and Margaret (Walker) Dickey. They may have come with the Philip Tanner family, who were relations by marriage. John Dickey married Rachel Tanner about 1758. Philip Tanner has the distinction of being the first man known killed by a puma in North America. The record of his death is one of the earliest extant records of Colonial America, and his tombstone at "The Stone Graveyard", Lewisville, Chester County, Pennsylvania, displays a likeness of the creature.