Joel Lewis born in Albemarle County, Virginia on August 26, 1760. When the American Revolution broke out he left college in Virginia and obtained a commission as a lieutenant in the North Carolina Continental Line. He then served as acaptain in the North Carolina Militia, serving first in the Surry County Regiment from 1780-1781 and also serving on detached duty with the North Carolina cavalry, sometimes called the NC Light Horse Regiment. He was captured and paroled during the Battle of Camden in 1780. In 1792 he moved to Nashville Tennessee, where he died on November 22, 1816.