General Evan Shelby - Grave of a Famous Person on Waymarking.com

General Evan Shelby was born in either 1719 or 1720 at Tregaron, Cardiganshire, Wales, and was the son of Evan and Catherine Morgan Shelby. The family came to America in about 1734 when Evan was about 15 years old and settled in Maryland. In 1774, young Evan lead a group of volunteers to join General Andrew Lewis in the Battle of Point Pleasant. In October 1780, General Shelby lead a group of men from the Watauga and Holston Valley to Kings Mountain, North Carolina, where the “Over Mountain Men” turned the tide of the American Revolution in the south by defeating the British Forces under the command of Patrick Ferguson. He resigned as brigadier general on October 29,1787, the last of his public service and retired to his home near present day Bristol, Virginia-Tennessee. General Evan Shelby died on December 4, 1794 and is buried in the East Hill Cemetery in Bristol, Virginia-Tennessee.

Description: General Evan Shelby was born in Wales in either 1719 or 1720 and came to America at the age of 15, settling with his parents near Hatertown, Maryland. As a teen he became a very good hunter and woodsman and his skill allowed him to rise from the rank of private to captain during the French and Indian War. As a young man he settled in the Watauga Valley in southwest Virginia where he raised cattle and attempted to trade with the Indians. In 1774 the war began with the Shawnee and the Delawares, and Shelby along with 25-volunteers marched to Point Pleasant, joining the Virginia Army under the Command of General Andrew Lewis to win the battle against Chief Cornstalk. In 1776, Virginia Governor Patrick Henry appointed him Major in the troops commanded by Col. William Christian against the Cherokees. On December 21, of that same year, he was appointed colonel of the militia of newly-created county of Washington, and in 1779, he led an expedition against the Chickamauga Indian towns on the lower Tennessee River. In October 1780, Shelby and his volunteer militia joined almost a thousand frontiersmen in the march on British Colonel Patrick Ferguson at the Battle of King's Mountain. The , at which Ferguson was killed and the British troops routed, is credited by most with having turning the tides of war in the south. In 1781, Shelby was elected a member of its Senate, and in 1786, the North Carolina Assembly appointed him brigadier general of militia of the Washington District of North Carolina. In March 1787, North Carolina Commissioner Evan Shelby negotiated a temporary truce with Colonel John Sevier, governor of the short-lived State of Franklin. In August 1787, he was elected governor of the State of Franklin to succeed Sevier, but declined. He resigned as brigadier general on October 29,1787, the last of his public service. General Shelby died on December 4, 1794, and is buried in the East Hill Cemetery in Bristol, Tennessee. Among his descendants were sons, Isaac SHELBY and Evan Shelby III, both of whom also fought at King's Mountain. Isaac Shelby was the Governor of Kentucky. Date of birth: 10/31/1719 Date of death: 12/04/1794 Area of notoriety: Historical Figure Marker Type: Horizontal Marker Setting: Outdoor Visiting Hours/Restrictions: Daily - Daylight Hours Only Fee required?: Yes Web site: [Web Link]

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