William Graham (colonel)

Colonel William Graham (1742–1835) was militia and political leader from North Carolina during the American Revolution.

Graham was born in Augusta County, Virginia, the son of Archibald Graham of Scotland. The younger Graham moved to the Province of North Carolina several years before the American Revolutionary War. There he was one of forty signers of the Tryon Resolves. In 1776, he served as a delegate from Tryon County, North Carolina (later lived in formed counties ,Lincoln and Cleveland)to the 3rd and 5th North Carolina Provincial Congress. As a colonel of militia, he served under General Griffith Rutherford in the successful "Light Horse expedition" against the Cherokee in 1776.

In 1780, he again led troops under General Rutherford in the Battle of Ramseur's Mill. That same year Graham marched with his troops in the expedition that led to the famous Battle of Kings Mountain, but due to an illness in his family, he was not with his men when the battle was fought.

Graham is buried in Cleveland County, North Carolina.

Notes

• Hunter, C. L. Sketches of Western North Carolina, Historical and Biographical.... Raleigh News Steam Job Print, 1877. Accessed via Google Book Search.