Francis Nash

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Brigadier General Francis Nash (1742 -October 7, 1777) was born in Prince Edward County, Virginia. At an early age he became prominent as a North Carolina merchant, attorney, and justice of the peace; experiences which eventually led to a seat in the North Carolina House of Commons. His brother was Abner Nash.

During the War of the Regulation, Nash was a lawyer working in Hillsborough, North Carolina, and was, along with Edmund Fanning, charged and found guilty of extorting money from the local residents. He served as a captain in the Orange County militia, and participated in the Battle of Alamance, fighting against the Regulators.

In 1775, the Provincial Congress elected Nash Lieutenant Colonel of the First North Carolina Regiment, Continental Army. After taking part in the expedition to aid Charleston in 1776 and 1777, Nash (now in command of the North Carolina Brigade) marched north to join General George Washington's Army and commanded the 1st North Carolina Regiment at the Battle of Brandywine. He was mortally wounded while leading his brigade in the Battle of Germantown on October 4, 1777 and died on October 7. He was buried in the Towamencin Mennonite Meetinghouse Cemetery in Towamencin Township, Pennsylvania on October 9, 1777.

Nash was regarded by Washington as a brave and valuable soldier. The governor of North Carolina described him as "the ablest North Carolina officer in the field" and at his death was described as "one of the most enlightened, liberal, and magnanimous gentlemen that ever sacrificed his life for his country."

The cities of Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, North Carolina, Nashville, Georgia, Nash County, North Carolina, General Nash Elementary School in Towamencin Township, Pennsylvania, and the U.S.S. Nashville (LPD-13; Amphibious Transport Dock) were named in his honor.