In  1769,  Joseph  Winston  and  others  petitioned  the  Vir-
ginia authorities  for  a  grant  of  ten  thousand  acres  of  land
on  the  lower  side  of  Little  Guyandotte  ;  and  probably  failing
to  secure  it,  Mr.  Winston  migrated  about  this  period  to
North  Carolina,  locating  on  Town  Fork  of  Dan  river,  in
what  was  long  Surry,  subsequently  Stokes  County,  North
Carolina.  In  1775,  he  was  a  member  of  the  Hillsboro
Convention;  and,  in  February,  1776,  he  went  on  the  expe-
dition against  the  Scotch  Tories  at  Cross  creek.  He  was
appointed,  in  this  year.  Ranger  of  Surry  County,  and
Major  in  the  militia,  serving  on  Rutherford's  expedition
against  the  Cherokees.  In  1777,  he  was  a  member  of  the
House  of  Commons,  and  a  Commissioner  to  treat  with  the
Cherokee  Indians.  In  1780,  he  served  in  Colonel  David-
son's expedition  in  pursuit  of  Bryans'  Tories  ;  was  with
Cleveland  against  the  Loyalists  on  New  river  ;  in  a  skirmish
at  Alamance  ;  and  commanded  a  portion  of  the  right  wing
at  King's  Mountain,  for  which  he  subsequently  was  voted
an  elegant  sword  by  the  Legislature  of  North  Carolina.
