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In 1774 the Royal Governor of Virginia,
Lord Dunmore, ordered Andrew Lewis to assemble a militia force for
an expedition against the united tribes of the Shawnees, Delawares,
Mingoes and Ottawaunder Chief Cornstalk. Based on his prior
experience in the western Virginia area, he assembled the army on
the Big Levels, now Lewisburg, naming the assembly area Fort Union.
After an arduous march of 161 miles, the Virginia militia met and
defeated the Indians at the battle of Point Pleasant on the Ohio
River.
Upon the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, Lewis accepted a
commission in the Continental Army and campaigned against the
British until 1781. On September 25, 1781, he died of a fever and
was buried in Bedford County, Virginia. Subsequently, his body was
moved to Salem, Virginia, where a monument was erected in his honor.
History
of the Inn 
Lewisburg, as well as the General Lewis Inn, is named in honor of
this Revolutionary War era patriot, General Andrew Lewis. The town
of Lewisburg grew around a natural spring which today is enclosed in
a stone springhouse three blocks below the General Lewis Inn, and is
believed to be the location of the original Fort Union.
Many of Lewisburg's most beautiful preserved homes and historical
sites were built in the 1830's during the Jacksonian Presidency and
the nation's westward movement. One of these homes was the Withrow
House, constructed in 1834. (Today this house is the east wing of
the General Lewis inn, and houses our restaurant on the first floor
and three of our finest rooms above.)
 On
May 23, 1862, a Confederate army under the command of Col. Henry
Heth arrived in the early morning hours. On the high ground around
the Withrow home he deployed his battery of Virginia artillery and
troops. The Withrow house became the center of the Confederate line.
Heth's mission was to remove and liberate the town from Union
commander George Crook's forces one half mile away. The town lay in
between.
The day went badly for the South, with many wounded and dead on both
sides, and the Confederate forces burned the bridge over the
Greenbrier River to secure their retreat. Lewisburg remained in
Federal control the remainder of the war.
In June 20, 1863, Lewisburg, Virginia became Lewisburg, West
Virginia, when the new state of West Virginia entered the Union as
the 35th state.
In the years to come Lewisburg continued to develop around the
crossroads of Route 60 (The Midland Trail) and Route 219. A stable
economy was based on an agricultural tradition, two secondary
schools, and the Court House. In the 1920's a young couple, Randolph
K. and Mary Milton Hock moved to Lewisburg with the idea of taking
the old 1834 Withrow House and, with additions, creating a new hotel
celebrating the talents, handicrafts, and style of the early
settlers. In May of 1929, The General Lewis Hotel opened. Today, the
same family continues the traditions started so long ago.
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