Thomas Polk Thomas Polk ( c . 1732 – January 25 , 1794 ) was a planter , military officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War from 1775 to 1781 , and a politician who served in the North Carolina House of Commons , North Carolina Provincial Congress , and Council of State . Polk commanded the 4th North Carolina Regiment in the Battle of Brandywine . In 1786 , Polk was elected by the North Carolina General Assembly to the Congress of the Confederation , but did not attend any of its sessions . Polk was a great - uncle of the 11th President of the United States , James K . Polk . Early life and War of the Regulation . Polk was born in Cumberland County , Pennsylvania around 1732 to William and Margaret Taylor Polk . His father was of Scotch - Irish descent , and had been born in the Province of Maryland . In 1753 , Polk moved to Anson County , North Carolina . In 1755 , he married Susanna Spratt , with whom he would have eight children . In 1765 , Polk participated in the War of Sugar Creek , in which local settlers took up arms against large private landholders who were speculating on real estate in the area of what is now Charlotte . During that conflict , speculator Henry McCulloh attempted to have a large tract of land that had been granted to him by the Crown surveyed and subdivided . The settlers in Anson County objected , as McCulloh sought to interfere with what they considered their established rights in the land . During the confrontation between the settlers and the land agents , McCulloh attempted to evict Polk from his home . Polk and his supporters intimidated McCulloh ' s land officers and surveyors to the point that McCulloh allowed the rights to a portion of his lands to revert to the Crown by 1767 . The settlers were not , however , ultimately successful , and many , including Polk himself , purchased land from McCulloh or were otherwise bribed into cooperation . Polk was also given a position as a commissioner for the new town of Charlotte due to McCulloh ' s influence , and served as McCulloh ' s land agent in the newly created Mecklenburg County . Charlotte had been founded at the crossroad of a small trail with the Indian Trading Path near where that great thoroughfare entered the lands occupied by the Catawba people . Polk ' s homeplace sat near the center of that community . Polk served in the North Carolina House of Commons from 1766 to 1771 . During the War of the Regulation , Polk was appointed a captain of militia by Governor William Tryon as part of the governor ' s strategy to recruit prominent Presbyterians to his side against the Regulators , many of whom had backgrounds in Presbyterian congregations . Polk ' s position as an assemblyman allowed him to take advantage of financial rewards after the defeat of the Regulator movement . In 1772 , Polk surveyed the border between North and South Carolina . American Revolutionary War . Polk was among the residents and officials of Mecklenburg County who drafted and adopted the Mecklenburg Resolves on May 31 , 1775 , which called for a reorganization of colonial government and declared laws enforced by the Crown null and void . Polk was then elected a member of the Third North Carolina Provincial Congress , which established a government in the absence of Royal Governor Josiah Martin . In late 1775 Polk participated as a colonel of Patriot militia in the Snow Campaign , which sought to suppress Loyalist recruiting in the South Carolina Upcountry . Polk was then appointed colonel of the 4th North Carolina Regiment of Continental Line and marched north in early 1777 . Polk and his unit fought at the Battle of Brandywine and wintered at Valley Forge with General Washington ' s main army . In September of 1777 , with British forces about to occupy Philadelphia , Polk was assigned to escort a baggage train containing the city ' s bells , including the Liberty Bell , from Philadelphia to safety in Allentown . By February of 1778 Polk returned to North Carolina to recruit more soldiers for the Continental Army , but by June 26 he had resigned his commission , aggrieved at being passed over for promotion to brigadier general after the death of General Francis Nash . He lost his command of the 4th North Carolina Regiment when , in a reduction of forces , it was combined with the 2nd North Carolina Regiment . In mid – 1780 Polk again accepted a commission with the Continental Army , this time serving as commissary general of purchases for both the state of North Carolina and the Continental Army in the southern theater . When Nathanael Greene assumed command of the Continental Army in the southern theater , he met with Polk for an extended time on the general ' s first night in the army ' s camp in order to become familiar with the region ' s resources . Polk also acted as commissary for the Salisbury district , one of North Carolina ' s militia recruiting divisions , often using his personal assets and credit to provide supplies for the Patriot cause . When controversy arose over the propriety of his practices in obtaining supplies and credit , he again resigned , but continued to work with General Greene , who appointed him a brigadier general in early 1781 . The North Carolina General Assembly refused to approve the commission and appointed him a " colonel commandant " instead . Polk declined the appointment , citing his age and family responsibilities . Political life after the Revolution . In 1783 and 1784 , Polk was elected to the North Carolina Council of State , which assisted the governors in performing their executive duties . In 1786 , the General Assembly elected Polk as a delegate to the Third Continental Congress , by that time known as the Congress of the Confederation , but Polk did not attend any of that body ' s sessions . Polk ' s home accommodated President George Washington overnight during his 1791 tour of the southern states . Death , legacy . Polk died at his Charlotte home on January 25 , 1794 , and was buried in what is now known as the Old Settlers ' Cemetery in Charlotte .