Lenoir County NcArchives Biographies.....Caswell, William Richard 1809 - 1862
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Martha M. Marble http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00022.html#0005285 March 12, 2014, 2:56 pm

Source: Metro Pulse
Author: Metro Pulse

William Richard Caswell (1809-1862)

William Richard Caswell, great grandson of the first American governor of North 
Carolina, was the son of Richard W. Caswell and Sarah (Lytle) Caswell of 
Murfreesboro. 

After attending Nashville University, he removed to East Tennessee and married 
Elizabeth Carter Gillespie, desdendant of a prominent family.

He served in the Tennessee Militia during the 1830s and later in the Mexican 
War. A lawyer by profession, he was active in the judicial and political life of 
Knox County. Here, also, he was a large land and slave holder and an early 
advocate of the Confederacy.

Before Tennessee seceded from the Union, Governor Harris appointed Caswell one 
of the few Brigadier Generals in the Provisional Army of Tennessee, which by 
October 29, 1861 became a part of the Confederate Armed Forces. "The Caswell 
Artillery" became a part of Capt. Hugh L. W. McClung's Tennessee Light Artillery 
Company, mustered into Confededrate service at Knoxville on November 29, 1861.

In August, 1862, General Caswell was murdered about a half-mile from his home in 
East Knox County. Blame was placed on a runaway slave.

Additional Comments:
Source: Malinda Taylor, Elder Law of East Tennessee
Metro Pulse, 9 Sep 1999

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