The Gillilands were a typical southern Scot-Irish family but at the same time they were also unique. They lived American history from the memorable Battle of King's Mountain during the American Revolution, where John Gilliland and the other 'Over the Mountain Boys' helped thwart the British invasion of the southeastern colonies, to the War of 1812 where Eli Gilliland served with the later famous David Crocket, a sergeant in Eli's company, to the Texas Revolution in 1836 where James Eli Gilliland participated in the San Antonio Expedition, the opening salvo of the fight for independence. The Gillilands, like other Scot-Irish families, suffered illnesses, the death of family members and other events which tested their minds and souls, but they continued seeking economic opportunities for themselves and for their families and determining their own destinies. The future would bring trying times for the Gillilands, as they were beset by more deaths, Comanche and Kiowa Indians, varying and sometimes brutal weather and a devastating war, but although they were buffeted by the winds of history, they, like their forebears, adapted and maintained their family culture