Lynch, Charles (1736–1796)

US soldier and judge. He commanded volunteers under Nathanael Greene during the American Revolution. Lynch had a reputation for high-handedness and extralegality in dealing with Tories, especially during the early years of the Revolution, but a legislative investigation concluded in 1782 that he acted out of military necessity. Lynch was born in Bedford County, Virginia. A well-to-do landowner, he became a justice of the peace in 1766 and later served in the Virginia House of Burgesses, where he campaigned for independence.