Joseph Winston

Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Winston (June 17, 1746 – April 21, 1815) was an American pioneer, politician, and American Revolutionary War hero from Surry County, North Carolina, and the first cousin of statesman and Virginia governor Patrick Henry. He was born on June 17, 1746, in Louisa County in the Colony of Virginia. His ancestors had emigrated from Yorkshire, England, to the American colonies in the 17th century, and his father was Samuel Winston. In his youth, Winston served with the Virginia militia, fighting against border Indians in 1763, an early experience in frontier warfare that preceded his later military service in the Revolution.

In 1766, Winston moved from Virginia to the northern part of Rowan County in the Province of North Carolina, in the area that subsequently became Surry County and later was organized as present-day Stokes County. He settled on the Town Fork of the Dan River, where he became a prominent local figure in the developing backcountry community. Before the outbreak of the American Revolution, he entered public life as a representative of his county in the revolutionary movement. He was elected a delegate to the North Carolina Provincial Congress at Hillsborough and became a member of the Surry County Committee of Safety, participating in the early organizational efforts of the patriot cause.

Winston continued his political involvement as the conflict with Britain intensified. In 1775, he was selected as a delegate from Surry County to the North Carolina Provincial Congress that met at Halifax in April 1776, which played a key role in authorizing North Carolina’s support for independence. In 1778, he was appointed the entry taker (register of deeds) for Surry County, responsible for recording land transactions. In this capacity he assisted the Moravian settlers in their Wachovia settlement, helping to formalize land titles and promote orderly development in the region. Like many landholding Southern politicians of his era, Winston owned slaves.

During the American Revolutionary War, Winston served in the North Carolina militia and rose to the rank of major, later being widely known as Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Winston. He was successively a 2nd major and 1st major in the Surry County Regiment of the North Carolina militia. He led a unit of riflemen in several important engagements, including the Battle of Moore’s Creek Bridge, the Battle of Kings Mountain, and the Battle of Guilford Court House. His leadership of backcountry riflemen in these battles contributed to the patriot victory in the Southern campaign and established his reputation as a war hero from Surry County.

Following the Revolution, Winston transitioned more fully into civil and legislative service. He represented his region in the North Carolina Senate from 1787 to 1789, participating in the state’s postwar political reorganization. As a member of the Republican Party representing North Carolina, he later served in the United States House of Representatives, where he contributed to the legislative process during three terms in office. His service in Congress occurred during a formative period in American history, as the new federal government took shape, and he participated in the democratic process by representing the interests of his North Carolina constituents at the national level.

In his later years, Winston remained a respected figure in North Carolina public life, associated both with the state’s revolutionary heritage and its early republican politics. He died on April 21, 1815. He is buried in the national military park at the site of the Battle of Guilford Court House near present-day Greensboro, North Carolina, where a monument erected in 1893 commemorates Major Winston’s command of militia forces in that engagement. His legacy is also reflected in the naming of the town of Winston, North Carolina—later merged with Salem to form Winston-Salem—in his honor, underscoring his lasting association with the region he helped to settle and represent.