Benjamin Cleveland was an American pioneer and officer in the North Carolina militia.
15 Facts About Benjamin Cleveland
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Benjamin Cleveland is best remembered for his service as a colonel in the Wilkes County Regiment of the North Carolina militia during the War of Independence, and in particular for his role in the American victory at the Battle of Kings Mountain.
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Benjamin Cleveland was born in Orange County, Virginia, the fourth child of John and Elizabeth [nee Coffee] Cleveland, and was of English descent and Irish descent.
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Benjamin Cleveland moved to the area which would become Wilkes County, North Carolina in 1769.
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Benjamin Cleveland was noted in the early history of Wilkes County, and is known to have worked as a hunter, trapper, farmer, carpenter, and surveyor.
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Benjamin Cleveland was elected to the North Carolina House of Commons in 1778 and to the North Carolina Senate in 1779 and 1780.
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Benjamin Cleveland was commissioned a lieutenant in 1775 and as a colonel in 1777 in the North Carolina militia.
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Benjamin Cleveland became known as the "Terror of the Tories" for his treatment of Loyalists.
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Benjamin Cleveland's men rescued him and captured Riddle and two others.
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Benjamin Cleveland played a key role in the ensuing Battle of Kings Mountain.
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Benjamin Cleveland's horse was shot from under him, and Major Ferguson was himself killed in the battle.
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Benjamin Cleveland claimed Ferguson's white stallion as a "war prize", and rode it home to his estate of Roundabout.
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Benjamin Cleveland died at his home in Oconee County, South Carolina in 1806 of heart dropsy.
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Tim Wilson, the shoe and boot maker for Colonial Williamsburg, made boots identical to the ones Benjamin Cleveland wore at the battle and ordered special England leather that was identical to what would have been worn in the late 18th century.
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The painting features a victorious Benjamin Cleveland leading his troops back home to Wilkes County on Ferguson's white stallion.