Nash County was formed out of Edgecombe County — a significant center of wealth and influence in the antebellum era — in 1777.
The new county was named for General Francis Nash, one of George Washington’s favorite commanders, who died at the Battle of Germantown (Pa.) on October 4, 1777.
Nash was born in Amelia County (now Prince Edward County), Virginia in 1742. Sometime before 1763 he moved to North Carolina near what is now Hillsborough. He worked as a lawyer and clerk of court before the Revolution. He represented Orange County in the Colonial Assembly, the First Provincial Congress. His brother, Abner, later served as a Congressman.
Francis Nash was wrongly accused of accepting illegal fees by the Orange County Regulators, but was found innocent. He served as a captain in the militia which fought against the Regulators in the Battle of Alamance in 1771.
In 1775, the Provincial Congress raised two regiments, and Nash was placed in one at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. When the commander was promoted, Nash was put in charge and given the rank of Colonel. He fought the British in South Carolina, and was soon sent north. By 1777, he was promoted to Brigadier General and was in charge of all nine North Carolina regiments. He served with George Washington through Philadelphia, New York, Delaware.
When Philadelphia fell to the British, Colonial forces regrouped and attacked a British-Hessian force at Germantown (PA). Nash was wounded severely in the hip and died three days later on October 7, 1777. It is said a cannon ball took off his right thigh. Nash’s dying words were reported to be: “From the first Dawn of the Revolution I have been ever on the side of liberty and my country.”
Just over a month after Nash’s death, prominent planter Nathan Boddie introduced a bill in the legislature to slice off part of Edgecombe at the “Falls of the Tar River.”[i] Because of the size of the county, it was difficult for the citizenry to attend court, public meetings, and vote. Parts of several other counties would later be formed out of Edgecombe, such as Granville (1746), Halifax (1758), and Wilson (1855, with parts of Nash, Johnston, and Wayne, as well).
Sources: By Faith and Heritage Are We Joined: A Compilation of Nash County Historical Notes; NCPedia; NC Dept. of Cultural Resources Blog; Galvanized: The Unlikely Odyssey of a Reluctant Carolina Confederate by Michael K. Brantley, forthcoming in 2019.