1. Jethro Sumner served as Sheriff of Bute County, but with the coming of the American Revolution, he became a strident patriot, and was elected to North Carolina's Provincial Congress.
19 Facts About Jethro Sumner
1. 2.
Jethro Sumner was named the commanding officer of the 3rd North Carolina Regiment of the North Carolina Line, a formation of the Continental Army, in 1776, and served in both the Southern theater and Philadelphia campaign.
3.
Jethro Sumner was one of five brigadier generals from North Carolina in the Continental Army, in which capacity he served between 1779 and 1783.
4.
Jethro Sumner served with distinction in the battles of Stono Ferry and Eutaw Springs, but recurring bouts of poor health often forced him to play an administrative role, or to convalesce in North Carolina.
5.
Jethro Sumner died in 1785 with extensive landholdings and 35 slaves.
6.
Jethro Sumner's family had originally settled in Nansemond County in 1691.
7.
Jethro Sumner was made commander at Pennsylvania's Fort Bedford in 1760.
8.
Jethro Sumner was active in pre-Revolution protests and politics, as he believed a separation from Great Britain was inevitable.
9.
Jethro Sumner was chosen to be a major in the Halifax District militia, and was instructed to drill his men so that they would be prepared for the expected conflict.
10.
Jethro Sumner likely participated in the defense of Charleston against a British invasion attempt in 1776, after which he was involved in the aborted plans of Major General Charles Lee to invade British Florida.
11.
Jethro Sumner himself became ill in early 1778, and was forced to return home to recuperate; he continued to recruit soldiers in North Carolina during his recovery.
12.
Jethro Sumner received the highest number of congressional votes, thirteen to Hogun's nine and Thomas Clark's four.
13.
At least seven Continental officers under Jethro Sumner's command were wounded, and future United States President Andrew Jackson's brother Hugh was among ten North Carolinians killed.
14.
Jethro Sumner returned to North Carolina to recover, continuing to recruit troops during his convalescence.
15.
Jethro Sumner suffered financially during his recovery, as a monetary crisis at the time left many officers in his position barely able to support themselves at home.
16.
Jethro Sumner was tasked by Lincoln with finding deserters in North Carolina and pressing them back into service.
17.
Jethro Sumner was further offended when command of the dwindling number of North Carolina Continentals in the southern theater was given to Smallwood as well.
18.
Jethro Sumner was originally buried eight miles outside of Warrenton, but in 1891 his remains were moved to the Guilford Courthouse Battlefield, where they were interred under a monument intended as part of a "shrine to patriots".
19.
The monument was restored by May 2012, and Jethro Sumner was reburied in a public ceremony.