William Lenoir ( general ) William Lenoir ( May 8 , 1751 – May 6 , 1839 ) was an American Revolutionary War officer and prominent statesman in late 18th - century and early 19th - century North Carolina . Both the City of Lenoir , North Carolina and Lenoir County , North Carolina are named for him . Additionally , Lenoir City , Tennessee is jointly named for him and for his son , William Ballard Lenoir . The USS Lenoir ( AKA - 74 ) was also ( indirectly ) named for him . Family and early years . The Lenoir name is of French origin , literally translating to " the black , " which was a term that was similar to how we now use " dark " to speak of someone with dark hair and complexion . Lenoirs came to the English colonies in America from Brittany as a result of 17th century religious troubles . Brittany was just across the English Channel from Southern England . Because it had such a long coastline , it is no surprise how many mariners came from the area . The Lenoir coat - of - arms , " Le Noir de Nantes " is named for Nantes , the largest city of Brittany and an important seaport . William Lenoir was born the youngest of ten in a French Huguenot family in Brunswick County , Virginia . His mother was Mourning Crawley , the daughter of a well - to - do Virginia planter . Her grandfather was Robert Crawley who was an early vestryman of the most noted surviving colonial church , Bruton Parish in Williamsburg . Lenoir ' s father was Thomas Lenoir , who , like his own father , was a mariner in early life before his marriage when he became a tobacco planter for the remainder of his life . The family moved to eastern North Carolina when William was nine years old , which was where his father died in 1765 . Of the four daughters , Ann , Betty , Leah , and Mary ; Leah lived the longest , marrying John Norwood and dying in North Carolina at age 94 . One of the six sons of Thomas and Mourning died unmarried , Robert remained in Virginia , Thomas Jr . , Isaac and John settled in South Carolina , and William remained in North Carolina , where he went on to have a distinguished public career and founded the Fort Defiance branch of the family . Lenoir had no formal education , but could read and write Latin , Greek , and French . His first occupation was that of teacher and schoolmaster , before he became a surveyor . While surveying in western North Carolina , Lenoir decided to permanently settle there . He brought with him his wife , Ann Ballard , and a baby daughter , when he arrived in March 1775 . The Lenoirs had nine children in all . One , Martha or " Patsy " , married Israel Pickens . Revolutionary War . Historian Samuel Ashe called Lenoir an " active and zealous and efficient supporter of the cause of independence . " He served with distinction in the American Revolutionary War , in particular taking part in the Battle of Kings Mountain as a Captain in the militia under Benjamin Cleveland . He received minor wounds at that battle . Otherwise , his military service consisted mostly of minor skirmishes with Loyalists and Cherokee Indians . He last saw action at Pyle ' s massacre , at which his horse was said to be the only American Patriot casualty . Lenoir subsequently gathered troops together to fight at the Battle of Guilford Court House , but arrived too late . After the war , William and his wife , Ann , built their home , called Fort Defiance . Only years after the war did Lenoir achieve the rank of Major General from service in the state militia . Shortly after achieving that rank , he desired to fight in the War of 1812 , but was deemed too old to do so . The disappointment of that led Lenoir to resign from the militia . Fort Defiance continues today , restored as a tourist and historical attraction in modern - day Caldwell County , North Carolina . Politics and public service . Lenoir , an anti - federalist , served for many years as a justice of the peace and Clerk of Court for Wilkes County , North Carolina . He was a founding member ( and briefly , the first president ) of the Board of Trustees of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill , where Lenoir Hall is also named for him . From 1781 to 1795 , Lenoir was also a member of the $ 3 representing Wilkes County and served as Speaker of the North Carolina Senate from 1790 to 1795 . He was a member of both the state convention of 1788 , which rejected the United States Constitution , and the convention of 1789 , which ratified it . Lenoir was suspicious of the new constitution and argued that it needed an amendment guaranteeing religious freedom ( which it later received ) . General Lenoir died on May 6 , 1839 , two days shy of his eighty - eighth birthday . His epitaph , written by Governor David Swain , read in part , " A genuine Whig whose highest eulogy is the record of his deeds . "