Simpson's story is now the subject of the book William Simpson: Citizen Soldier, written by Dr. M. Kent Gregory, an assistant professor at the University of Southern California and a leader in the Sons of the American Revolution.
The book tells the story of William Simpson, who as a young man joined the Virginia Militia to serve as a patriot during the Revolutionary War. During his military service, he served under individuals whose names would reverberate in American history: George Washington, Henry Lee II, Thomas Nelson, Baron Von Steuben and the Marquis de Lafayette.
Following the war, William Simpson became part of America's expansion westward. He moved from the tidewater area of the Potomac to southwestern Virginia, then to Tennessee, becoming part of a mass migration of over 200,000 settlers going west. In 1816, he moved his family into the Illinois Territory and homesteaded in the frontier, becoming one of the earliest settlers north of Burnt Prairie.
By the end of William Simpson's life, he was well-known in Wayne and White counties. He was revered as a Revolutionary War veteran, an early pioneer, a church founder, and was acclaimed by his neighbors for his honesty and integrity.
He was friends with Alexander Campbell, an early representative to the Illinois Legislature, and with Judge William Wilson of Carmi, the chief justice of the Illinois Supreme Court from 1825 until 1848. His children and descendants became respected citizens throughout the area.
Copies of William Simpson: Citizen Soldier can be purchased from the author, M. Kent Gregory, for $30 (shipping included). The author can be contacted at drkentgregory@earthlink.net.
