Fielding Lewis was an American soldier and patriot.
Background
Fielding Lewis was probably a descendant of Robert Lewis, a native of Brecon, Wales, who settled in what is now Gloucester County, Virginia, United States about 1635. Fielding's immediate forebears were cultivated, wealthy, and influential. He was the son of John Lewis, member of the Virginia Council, and of Frances, daughter of Henry Fielding, gentleman, of King and Queen County, Virginia; his grandfather, John Lewis--also a Councillor--had married Elizabeth Warner, daughter of Col. Augustine Warner of "Warner Hall, " in Gloucester County, and of Mildred Reade, his wife. In this way, it is said, there came into possession of the Lewis family the old mansion, "Warner Hall, " in which Fielding was born.
Career
His association with George Washington was long and intimate. The letters and diaries of Washington show that he was a frequent visitor at "Kenmore, " and was much attached to the family there. It was after his marriage to Washington's sister, Betty that Lewis built "Kenmore. " The house is constructed of brick, with walls two feet thick. The woodwork in its spacious rooms is fashioned in exquisite detail. Washington was much interested in its building and aided in designing its interior decorations. During the Revolution he sent two Hessian artisans, captured at Trenton, to adorn the mansion with elaborately decorated mantels and ceilings. Lewis was also associated with Washington, in 1761, in the organization of the Dismal Swamp Company, formed to build a canal through that swamp and to drain its lands.
Beginning in 1760, Lewis served for almost a decade as burgess from Spotsylvania County. From the beginning of the struggle with Great Britain he was an ardent patriot. On June 1, 1774, he joined with a group of citizens of Fredericksburg, who adopted a resolution pledging themselves to concur in whatever the colonies should do respecting the "hostile invasions of the rights and liberties of the town of Boston. " He was chosen a member of a committee to correspond with neighboring towns and counties. The Revolutionary county committee of Spotsylvania, of which Lewis was chairman, adopted, on May 9, 1775, resolutions thanking "Capt. Patrick Henry for the part which he played in the gunpowder affair. " During the war he was commissioned at the rank of Colonel.
Ill health excluded Lewis from military service; but he spent his strength and fortune in the cause of liberty. In July 1775 the General Assembly decided to establish a factory at Fredericksburg for the making of small arms for the state troops, and appointed Lewis chief commissioner to superintend the undertaking. Early in 1776 operations were begun. Lewis remained in charge of the factory until 1781, when he was forced by sickness to resign. When necessary funds for this vital work could not be secured by the state, he advanced seven thousand pounds of his own money, thereby saving the enterprise. This generous action left him in very straitened circumstances at the end of his life. Lewis died in Fredericksburg in 1781 at the end of the Revolutionary War.
Achievements
Fielding Lewis has been listed as a noteworthy planter, colonial official by Marquis Who's Who.
Connections
On October 18, 1746, Lewis married Washington's cousin, Catherine Washington, by whom he had three children. After her death, he married, May 7, 1750, Washington's sister, Betty. There were eleven children of this union.
