Joel Leftwich (1760-1846)

Within a few miles of here lived and died Joel Leftwich, militia general, legislator, justice of the peace, and Revolutionary War veteran. In the War of 1812, he commanded a brigade of Virginia militia that marched in the winter of 1812-1813 to assist Gen. William Henry Harrison defeat the British in Ohio. While there, his men helped build Fort Meigs, the largest wooden- palisaded fort in North America. In the summer of 1814, he also commanded a militia brigade that marched to the outskirts of Baltimore to assist in protecting Washington and Baltimore from further British threats.