General William Lee Davidson

General William Lee Davidson. . Brigadier General William Lee Davidson, the leading partisan officer of the North Carolina piedmont in the Revolutionary War, was killed on the Mecklenburg bank of the Catawba River at Cowan's Ford on February 1, 1781. The exact spot is now under water near the east end of the dam. General Davidson with a small force of volunteer militia, attempted to stop or slow down the crossing of the Catawba by Lord Cornwallis and the British army in pursuit of the main American forces under General Nathanael Greene. The young brigadier (he was only thirty four) was shot from the river, presumably by a tory guide, and fell dead from his horse on the bank. Although the British made good their crossing, the affair at Cowan's Ford slowed them sufficiently to permit the main army to escape to Guilford Courthouse where Greene gave successful battle to Cornwallis. Davidson was reared in the North Carolina piedmont and was the most popular commander in the area. He was the chief instrument relied upon by General Greene for calling out the impulsive and often reluctant militia (state) forces in defense of their country. He was buried by torchlight in Hopewell Presbyterian churchyard in Mecklenburg County as the territory around his own church, Centre, was on that night infested with British and Tories. He was married to Mary, daughter of the patriot squire John Brevard, and left a large family of small children. Davidson College and Davidson counties, North Carolina and Tennessee, are named in his honor.