Knox County was established in 1792 and named in honor of Maj. Gen. Henry Knox, Washington's Chief of Artillery in the Revolutionary War, Secretary of War in Washington's Cabinet, and one of the founders and first Secretary of the Society of Cincinnati. Sevier County was established in 1794 and named in honor of John Sevier, a Colonel in the Revolutionary Army, a commander at King's Mountain, and veteran of 35 battles in the Revolution and Indian Wars; he was Governor of the State of Franklin, represented his state in Congress three times, and served as the first Governor of Tennessee from 1796 to 1801 and from 1803 to 1809.