Edward Vail raised troops to fight in the French and Indian War in 1754, represented Chowan County in the colonial assembly between 1754 and 1774 and served on North Carolina's Committee of Correspondence in the 1760s and 1770s. He will be recognized with dedication of a North Carolina Highway Historical Marker Nov. 21, at 11 a.m. on Southside Road south of Edenton.
As a militia captain in the French and Indian War, Vail was serving under Col. Hugh Waddell at Fort Dobbs during the attack on the garrison in 1760. Later as a colonel, Vail and his troops supported Gov. William Tryon in a campaign against the Regulators in 1771. He remained active in the military throughout his life and was appointed a brigadier general of the Edenton District militia in 1776.
Vail represented Chowan County in the colonial assembly frequently between 1754 and 1774. Being well respected in the colony, he was appointed to North Carolina's Committee of Correspondence in 1768, 1773 and 1774. This was an early organization that aimed to aid communication between the colonies and to spread revolutionary sentiment.