WOODFORD, William, soldier, born in Caroline county, Virginia, in 1735; died in New York city, 13 November, 1780. He served with credit during the French and Indian war, and in the autumn of 1775, on the assembling of the Virginia troops at Williamsburg, was chosen colonel of the 2d Virginia regiment. At Hampton Roads, the first battle of the Revolution in Virginia, he was engaged in preventing the destruction of the town of Hampton by Lord Dunmore, and sank five of his vessels. Colonel Woodford had command of the Virginians that defended Great Bridge on Elizabeth river, and defeated the force that was sent by Lord Dunmore to take it, after a sharp battle in which the British suffered a loss of fifty-five, while not a single Virginian was killed. He called the militia of Norfolk and Princess Anne counties to arms, and on 14 December, 1775, occupied Norfolk. He was appointed brigadier-general on 21 February, 1777, and given command of the 1st Virginia brigade. At the battle of the Brandywine he was wounded in the hand, but he took an active part in the battles of Germantown and Monmouth. He was then ordered to the relief of Charleston, South Carolina, and marched 500 miles with the Virginia and North Carolina troops in twenty-eight days. He reached Charleston in April, and was taken prisoner on 12 May, 1780. The British sent him to New York, where he died. Counties in Kentucky and Illinois bear his name.