Francis Nash, for whom the county was named, was a member of the N.C. Provincial Congress in 1775, became lieutenant colonel on September 1, 1775, colonel on April 10, 1776, and brigadier general on February 5, 1777. He was fatally wounded on October 4, 1777, at the Battle of Germantown, Pennsylvania, while in command of North Carolina troops of the Continental Line. He declared, "From the first dawn of the Revolution I have been on the side of liberty and my country."