Charles McDowell (North Carolina militiaman)

Brigadier General

Charles McDowell
Birth nameCharles McDowell
BornOct 18, 1743
Winchester, Virginia
DiedMarch 31, 1815
Burke County, North Carolina, US
Buried
AllegianceUnited States
Service / branchNorth Carolina militia
Years of service1775-1783
Rankbrigadier general
Unit
  1. 2nd Rowan County Regiment
  2. Burke County Regiment
  3. Morgan District Brigade
Commands
  1. Burke County Regiment, militia
  2. Morgan District Brigade
Spouse(s)Grace Grizzell Greenlee McDowell (1750–1823)

Charles McDowell (1743–1815) was a Brigadier General of the Morgan District Brigade of the North Carolina Militia during the American Revolution, state senator, and County Justice of Peace in Burke County, North Carolina.[1][2]

Early life

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Charles McDowell was born on October 18, 1743, in Winchester, Frederick County, Virginia. He was the son of Joseph McDowell an ulster-scot and Margaret O'Neil McDowell an Irish women. He and his brother Joseph McDowell Jr. (1756-1801) moved with his parent to the area called Quaker Meadows in Rowan County, North Carolina (became Burke County in 1777).[1][2][3]

Military service

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He served as an officer in the North Carolina militia during the American Revolution. He was involved in many skirmishes with the Cherokee during the war.[1][2]

Post war

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Before the war, he served in the state senate of the North Carolina House of Commons in 1777 and 1778. As the war ended, he took up service again and served as a state senator from 1782 to 1789. He was one of three commissioners chosen to lay off the county seat, Morganton, in Burke County in 1784. He was in favor of the federal constitution and participated in the North Carolina United States Constitution conventions in 1788 and 1789.[2]

He died on March 31, 1815, and was buried at the Quaker Meadows Cemetery in Morganton.

References

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  1. ^ a b c Lewis, J.D. "Brigadier General Charles McDowell". The American Revolution in North Carolina. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d Powell, William S. (1991). "Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, 6 volumes; Charles McDowell"., See also NCPedia
  3. ^ "North Carolina Highway Marker N-3, Quaker Meadows". Retrieved March 8, 2019.