him four hundred and twelve dollars and a half." (Further examples of the low value of Continental currency. For at least a century after the Revolution there was a common expression, "Not worth a Continental.") Houston concluded his diary with the remark, "We crossed the mountains" and arrived at the home of his brother, William. Apparently for Samuel Houston, the war was over. The campaign had lasted less than a month and he resumed his studies for the ministry.

In the Guilford battle, Houston fired his muzzle-loading musket 14 shots, a good record considering the shortness of the battle and the slowness of weapons of the times. Some of the militia fired only a round or two before retreating and some not at all. He came through the fight unharmed, but a relative, Capt. John Paxton, brother of Mrs. Samuel Houston, Gen. Sam Houston’s mother, was wounded in the foot by a musket ball and never fully recovered.

Upon completion of his studies, Samuel Houston was ordained as a Presbyterian minister and faithfully followed his calling until death at a ripe old age. Soon after the Revolutionary War, he was involved in the colorful episode of the "State of Franklin."

Despite deficiencies in training and discipline, the state militia of the Revolution played an important role in keeping order on the home front and sometimes turning the tide on the battlefront. Of George Washington’s 396,000 troops in the war. 165,000 were militiamen.