General Griffith Rutherford memorial

General Griffith Rutherford (1721-1805) was an Irish-born statesman and Revolutionary War veteran, and an important figure in the early history of the Southwest Territory and the state of Tennessee.

He entered the Revolutionary War in 1775 as a colonel in North Carolina’s militia, in command all colonial military forces west of the Alleghenies. Rutherford was later promoted to brigadier general in 1776,

After the war, he received 3,000 acres of Tennessee land. Rutherford County was named for General Rutherford in 1803. The General Griffith Rutherford stone memorial was erected in 1946 by the Tennessee Historical Commission.