Soldier, born in St. Kitts, West Indies; died in Philadelphia, PA, 1778. He was educated in England, but came to live in Tyrrell County, NC. He fought, in the Revolutionary War, at Brandywine and at Germantown. In the latter battle he was wounded, captured, and died soon after from his wounds. A county of North Carolina was named for him in 1791. From this county and its Congressman came the phrase buncombe, used in the United States for mere bombastic speech-making, intended for the newspapers, without regard to the audience present. Bartlett quotes from Wheeler’s History of North Carolina: “Several years ago, in Congress, the member for this district arose to address the House, without any extraordinary powers, in manner or matter, to interest the audience. Many members left the hall. Very naïvely he told those who remained that they might go too; he should speak for some time, but he was only ’talking for Buncombe.’”
