Davidson County was named in honor of General William
Lee Davidson, a gallant soldier of the Revolution, who was killed at Cowan's
Ford. When General Greene retreated across North Carolina before Cornwallis
in 1781, he stationed troops under Davidson at Cowan's Ford on the Catawba
River to delay the British army. The British attacked the Americans, killing
General Davidson, and forced a passage. The United States government has
erected a monument in his honor on Guilford Battle Ground.1
