Francis Nash was born in Amelia County, Virginia in about 1742. A resident of Orange County, North Carolina, he served several terms in the colonial assembly. He served as a lt. col. of the 1st North Carolina Regiment of the Continental Line from 1775 to 1776. In April 1776 he became the colonel of the regiment and led troops during the Siege of Charleston, South Carolina in June 1776. In February 1777 he became a general and was in charge of the North Carolina portion of the Continental Line. He was mortally wounded during the Battle of Germantown in Philadelphia and died on October 7, 1777.