General Andrew Lewis was born in Ireland and moved with his family to the Shenandoah Valley around 1732. His father taught him fort building and surveying. In 1751, Andrew helped survey the Greenbrier Valley and later worked with George Washington on surveying land in Western Virginia.

Lewis served as a captain in the Virginia militia. He fought in the French and Indian War, was wounded twice, and was once captured and held in Canada. He also led an expedition in 1756 to stop Indian attacks but was not successful.

In 1774, Lewis led 1,000 Virginia soldiers to the Battle of Point Pleasant, where they defeated a group of Shawnees led by Chief Cornstalk.