Griffith Rutherford

Griffith Rutherford
Memorial for Griffith Rutherford in Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Born	1721 Ireland
Died	August 10, 1805 (aged 84) Sumner County, Tennessee
Allegiance	Great Britain  United States
Service/branch	North Carolina militia
Years of service	Colonial Militia 1760–1775 North Carolina Militia 1775–1783
Rank	Colonial Militia Captain 1760 Colonel 1772 North Carolina Militia Colonel December 21, 1775 Brigadier General April 22, 1776
Unit	North Carolina militia
Battles/wars	French and Indian War Battle of Fort Duquesne Anglo-Cherokee War War of the Regulation Battle of Alamance American Revolutionary War Snow Campaign Battle of Camden Battle of Ramsour's Mill Cherokee–American wars Second Cherokee War Second Invasion of Chickamauga Towns
Relations	Married to Elizabeth Graham
Other work	Served in the North Carolina senate, settled in Sumner County, Tennessee, became President of the Legislative Council of the Southwest Territory (Tennessee)

Colonial Militia 1760–1775

North Carolina Militia

Colonial Militia

North Carolina Militia

French and Indian War

War of the Regulation

American Revolutionary War

Cherokee–American wars

Griffith Rutherford (c. 1721 – August 10, 1805) was an officer in the American Revolutionary War, a political leader in North Carolina, and an important figure in the early history of the Southwest Territory and the state of Tennessee.

During the French and Indian War, Rutherford became a captain of a local British colonial militia. He continued serving in the militia until the start of the revolution in 1775, at which time he enlisted in the North Carolina militia as a colonel. He was appointed to the post of brigadier general of the "Salisbury District" in May 1776, and participated in the initial phases of the Cherokee–American wars against the Cherokee Indians along the frontier. In June 1780, he was partly responsible for the Loyalist defeat in the Battle of Ramsour's Mill. Rutherford was present at the Battle of Camden on August 16, 1780, where he was taken prisoner by the British. After being exchanged in 1781, Rutherford participated in several other campaigns, including further attacks on the Chickamauga faction of the Cherokee.