On September 9, 1775, the NC Provincial Congress appointed Thomas Benbury as a Major under Col. Thomas Bonner in the Chowan County Regiment of Militia.

In the 2Q of 1779, Thomas Benbury was promoted to Lt. Colonel under Col. James Blount in the Chowan County Regiment of Militia. Since complete records do not exist, it is assumed that he continued to serve in this position until the end of the war in 1783, except for a short stint in 1780 as a Brig. Gen. (Pro Tempore).

Brig. Gen. Isaac Gregory, leader of the Edenton District Brigade of Militia, was badly wounded at the battle of Camden, SC on August 16, 1780. After his return to North Carolina and his subsequent recuperation, Brig. Gen. Isaac Gregory marched with his brigade to Charlotte to help subdue the British, who had recently invaded North Carolina. While Gregory was in the western part of the state, Thomas Benbury was appointed Brig. Gen. (Pro Tempore) over the Edenton District Brigade of Militia. On October 22, 1780 and on October 30, 1780, he wrote letters to Gov. Abner Nash about the British landing in Portsmouth, VA.

Since records are so incomplete, it is very probable that Thomas Benbury was promoted to full Colonel over the Chowan County Regiment of Militia perhaps as early as 1780 and continued in this higher rank until the end of the war. The Author has found no definitive evidence of this, but it is highly unlikely that the NC General Assembly would appoint a Lt. Colonel as a Brig. Gen. (Pro Tempore) when there were many other full Colonels in the Edenton District in the Fall of 1780 that would have complained bitterly if this had occurred.

It is known that Col. James Blount of the Chowan County Regiment of Militia was accused of not taking his position seriously and many officers attempted to bring him to a Court Martial, dates unknown. On May 5, 1783, the NC General Assembly ordered Brig. Gen. Isaac Gregory to convene a Court Martial for Col. James Blount because a Flag Vessel was seized in Edenton and taken to Virginia. This Author does not know any more details about this alleged incident.

Thomas Benbury was a delegate to the First Provincial Congress of August 1774 in New Bern; the Third Provincial Congress of August 1775 in Hillsborough; the Fourth Provincial Congress of April 1776 in Halifax; and the Fifth Provincial Congress of November 1776, also in Halifax. Thomas Benbury represented Chowan County in the NC House of Commons from 1777 to 1782, and was the Speaker of the House of Commons from 1778 to 1782.

Thomas Benbury was born on November 28, 1736 in Chowan County, NC. He married Thamir Howcot in 1761 and they had two known children - Thomas and Richard. He married a second time to Elizabeth ?, and they had one daughter - Mary. He died on February 6, 1793 in Chowan County, NC.

Click Here for a decent online biography of Thomas Benbury provided by NCPedia.org.

Click Here for a brief writeup and photo of his grave marker provided by findagrave.com.