he offered as his substitute the mulatto
boy Austin, who had then grown to be a stout and serviceable lad.

Objection was made that Austin was a slave, and could not therefore be
received as a soldier. At this, Aycock acknowledged that Austin was no
slave; that, although he was a mulatto, he had been born free. This fact
was made so clear to the patriots, that they willingly received Austin
as a soldier, and he was mustered into the service under the name of
Austin Dabney. He fought under Elijah Clarke, being under the command of
Colonel John Dooly, who was afterwards so foully murdered by the Tories.
Of all the brave men that fought under the heroic Clarke, there was none
braver than Austin Dabney, none that did better service.

He was in the battle of Kettle Creek, and was foremost among those who
followed Clarke. Toward the close of this the bloodiest battle fought in
Georgia between the patriots and Tories, Austin Dabney was shot through
the thigh, and so dangerously wounded that he became a cripple for life.
He was taken by his comrades to the house of a Mr. Harris, where he was
carefully nursed until his wound healed. He was not able to do military
duty after that, but he devoted himself to Harris and his family more
faithfully than any slave could have done. It may be said of him that
gratitude became the ruling passion of his heart.

After the Americans had won their independence, and peace with it,
Austin Dabney became prosperous. Being a quick-witted man, with an
instinct for business, he accumulated property. He finally moved to
Madison County, taking with him his benefactor and family, to whose
wants and desires he continued to minister with as much devotion as he
displayed at the beginning of his service. It was in Madison County
that Austin Dabney became noted for his fondness for horse-racing. He
attended all the races in the neighboring counties. He was the owner of
some of the finest race horses to be found in the country; and such was
his popularity, that he always found prominent men to stand for him.

Shortly after he removed to Madison County, he received a pension from
the United States Government. He sent Harris's oldest son to school,
and afterwards to college. When the young man graduated from Franklin
College, now the State University, Austin Dabney supported him while
he studied law with Hon. Stephen Upson at Lexington, Oglethorpe County.
When young Harris was undergoing his examination for