Andrew Lewis was a military officer who served with the British forces during the Seven Years’ War (1754–1763) and as a brigadier general in the Continental Army during the American Revolution (1775–1783). Lewis was born in County Donegal, Ireland, on October 9, 1720. His family emigrated to North America and settled in the upper Shenandoah Valley near what would become Staunton. His father, John Lewis, a prominent land speculator, served on the governor’s Council. Lewis served as a captain and major in the Virginia Regiment under George Washington during the Seven Years’ War and as a militia commander on the western frontier during Pontiac’s Rebellion (1763–1764). Lewis moved his family to the Roanoke Valley and became chief militia officer for Botetourt County on March 2, 1770. He was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses in 1772, serving until 1776. He commanded one of two principal forces under royal governor John Murray, fourth earl of Dunmore, during Dunmore’s War and led the victory at the Battle of Point Pleasant on October 10, 1774. After joining the Patriot cause, Lewis was a delegate to the Second Virginia Convention (March 1775) and the Fourth Virginia Convention (December 1775). Appointed a brigadier general in the Continental Army on March 1, 1776, Lewis successfully drove Dunmore’s forces off of Gwynn’s Island on July 9, 1776. He resigned his commission on April 15, 1777, after the Continental Congress failed to promote him to major general. On May 24, 1780, he was elected to the Privy Council to advise Virginia governor Thomas Jefferson. Lewis died suddenly on September 25, 1781, and was buried at his plantation, Richfield, near present-day Salem, leaving an estate of 30,000 acres and twenty enslaved laborers.
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