Charles Harrison ( general ) Charles Harrison ( 1740 – 12 December 1793 ) was born into the famous Harrison family of Virginia . His brother was a signer of the Declaration of Independence and his nephew William Henry Harrison later became president . At the beginning of the American Revolutionary War he became lieutenant in a company of artillery from Virginia . When the state expanded its small artillery battalion into a regiment in November 1776 , Harrison was appointed commander with the rank of colonel . Initially named Harrison ' s Continental Artillery Regiment , the unit was renamed the 1st Continental Artillery Regiment in August 1779 . He joined George Washington ' s main army in time to fight at Monmouth . In 1780 he led his gunners at Camden and the following year he commanded Nathanael Greene ' s artillery at Hobkirk ' s Hill . Harrison ' s regiment . Charles Harrison was born about 1740 in Charles City , Virginia of parents Benjamin Harrison IV and Anne Carter . On 1 December 1775 , the Virginia Convention authorized a state artillery company , including a captain , three lieutenants , one sergeant , four corporals , four bombardiers , eight gunners , and 48 matross es . A committee appointed James Innis captain while Harrison , Edward Carrington , and Samuel Denney became lieutenants on 13 February 1776 . The company was accepted by the Second Continental Congress on 19 March . A second company was formed and the French volunteer Dohickey Arundel appointed to lead it . The Frenchman was killed while test - firing a mortar and Innis tranferred to the infantry . The Virginia Continental Artillery Company coexisted with the second unit , the Virginia State Artillery Company , which was authorized on 11 January 1776 . On 26 November 1776 , Congress authorized Harrison ' s Continental Artillery Regiment to be made up of 10 companies , including the two existing units . Assigned to the Southern Department , the regiment assembled at Williamsburg , Virginia in the spring and summer of 1777 . Harrison was named the regiment ' s colonel and Edward Carrington was appointed lieutenant colonel . On 13 March 1778 the regiment was ordered to join the main army which was at Valley Forge , Pennsylvania . At the Battle of Monmouth on 28 June 1778 , Harrison and his regiment were part of Henry Knox ' s artillery brigade in the American order of battle . After British commander Sir Henry Clinton threw back Charles Lee ' s 5 , 000 - man advance guard , he was finally stopped in front of Washington ' s main line of battle . Clinton tried to break Lord Stirling ' s left flank , but the effort failed in the face of heavy musketry and effective fire delivered by a battalion of artillery under the tactical direction of Carrington . In fall 1778 , Captain James Pendleton kept the regiment ' s orderly book . He recorded only 27 men remaining on the unit roster . On 10 August 1779 , Harrison ' s regiment was renamed the 1st Continental Artillery Regiment . After two boards of generals reviewed the seniority of the officers , it was decided that the regiments of John Lamb and John Crane could not claim lineage to Knox ' s original Continental Artillery Regiment . Therefore , Harrison ' s regiment became the 1st , Lamb ' s the 2nd Continental Artillery Regiment , Crane ' s the 3rd Continental Artillery Regiment , and Thomas Proctor ' s the 4th Continental Artillery Regiment . Meanwhile , three Maryland artillery companies joined Harrison ' s regiment in 1778 on a provisional basis . They officially merged with the 1st Artillery on 9 May 1780 . The 1st Maryland Company became the 11th Company while the 2nd and 3rd Maryland consolidated as the 12th Company . Southern campaign . Carrington took three batteries of the 1st Regiment south with Johann de Kalb in 1780 , but Harrison arrived " unexpectedly " to claim seniority . The two men clashed and the new commander Horatio Gates sent Carrington to reconnoiter crossings of the Dan River . At the Battle of Camden on 16 August 1780 , Harrison commanded 100 artillerists and six cannons . Otho Holland Williams recalled that Harrison ' s guns were massed in the center near the main north - south road . One of Harrison ' s officers , Captain Anthony Singleton pointed out to Williams that the British troops were about away and received permission to open fire . The guns of both sides blazed away and produced a fog - like bank of smoke . When the British right wing advanced , the American militiamen on the left panicked and ran away , most without even firing a shot . The Maryland Continentals of the American right and reserve defended themselves stoutly but were enveloped and crushed with heavy losses . De Kalb was mortally wounded in the disastrous defeat . Harrison commanded Nathanael Greene ' s artillery at the Battle of Hobkirk ' s Hill . On this occasion he led 40 Virginia gunners and three 6 - pound cannons . During the pre - battle maneuvers , Greene sent the guns back to the Lynches River to avoid capture . The British commander Lord Rawdon found out about this and advanced to the attack on 25 April 1781 . Harrison ' s guns rejoined Greene in time for the action and were placed in a hidden position . As Rawdon ' s attack approached , Harrison ' s masked battery cut loose with case shot , halting the British . However , Rawdon was able to parry Greene ' s subsequent counterattack . Three American regiments broke and retreated , but the 5th Virginia Regiment held together and covered the retreat . With the British about to overrun the artillery , Greene sent Captain James Smith and 45 Marylanders to haul away the cannons . They drove off a troop of 60 loyalist dragoons under John Coffin , but Smith was hit and soon only 14 men remained of the group . Greene rallied some matrosses and returned to help drag the three pieces away . At length , William Washington turned up with about 80 American dragoons and saved the guns . The British tactical victory was hollow because Rawdon was soon compelled to retreat to Charleston , South Carolina . The 1st Regiment was reorganized into 10 companies on 1 January 1780 . It was furloughed during the summer of 1783 at Winchester , Virginia and Baltimore , Maryland . On 15 November , the regiment was officially dissolved . Meanwhile , Harrison resigned his command on 1 January 1783 . Congress rewarded him with the brevet rank of brigadier general on 30 September 1783 . Family . Harrison married Mary Claiborne ( 19 January 1744 – 25 July 1775 ) and the couple had six known children . The first child Augustine has unknown birth and death dates . Subsequent children were Charles II ( d . 23 November 1796 ) , Mary Herbert ( 11 September 1766 – 15 January 1833 ) , Benjamin Henry ( 1770 – 1811 ) , Anne Carter ( 1744 – 10 March 1830 ) , and Elizabeth Randolph ( 1 July 1775 – 3 June 1837 ) . Harrison was the uncle of President William Henry Harrison . His brother Benjamin Harrison V was a signer of the Declaration of Independence . Harrison died on 12 December 1793 .