Benjamin Cleveland was born on May 26th, 1738 in Bull Run, Prince William County, located in Virginia.  He was the son of John Cleveland, a house-joiner, and Martha Coffee.  His education was limited and he strongly disliked the constant effort of farm work.   In 1761 he married Mary Graves and made a reluctant attempt at farming.  The couple had two children.

In the early 1770’s he learned about promising land in Kentucky from his neighbor Daniel Boone and in the summer of 1772 Cleveland organized a party to search for it, but they were robbed by a band of Cherokee around Cumberland Gap and returned home due to the lack of supplies.  After his return, Cleveland regained his strength, gathered a party of gunmen, and daringly returned to the Cherokee area, moving from village to village to recover his possessions.  This event permanently established his reputation as a strong Indian fighter.

In 1776, he became a captain of the Surry militia.  He fought against Loyalist forces in the Wake Forest region and in the autumn 1776 he led a company in Rutherford’s campaign against the Cherokee  in North and South Carolina.  During the course of this campaign, militia forces completely destroyed thirty-six Cherokee towns.  In 1777 he served at Carter’s Fort and the Long Island of Holston, in East Tennessee, and in 1778 became a colonial in the Wilkes County militia.

 In June 1780 he helped to drive Loyalists from Ramsour’s Mills and then fought at the battle of King’s Mountain.  This battle was against Major Patrick Ferguson, who was the left wing of the British army’s attack on the South.  The Revolutionaries won decisively, killing Ferguson, and the battle became the turning point of the war in the South.  In 1781, Cleveland was briefly captured by Loyalists but was soon rescued by his friends and brother Bob.  Throughout the war Cleveland was merciless to the Loyalists that fought against him.

At the end of the Revolution War, Cleveland gave up his land and in 1785 moved to the western border of South Carolina and became an associate judge in Pendleton County.  Cleveland died in his chair in October 1806 at his estate on the Tugaloo River, in current Oconee County, S.C.   A monument was erected on his behalf on July 29th, 1887 at Fort Madison, South Carolina and in 1841 North Carolina named a county after him.