Roll of Honor
Incident
Sheriff George Phillips drowned after being washed off of his horse while crossing the flooded Yadkin River. Sheriff Phillips was traveling to Raleigh to turn in the county's taxes when the incident occurred.
Sheriff Phillips was survived by his wife and two children.
Survivors
Sheriff Phillips was survived by his wife and two children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-NC-0B14E354- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
183 years is a long time for a name to go unread. Not today.
Sheriff Phillips served with the Ashe County Sheriff's Office.
Thank you for your service to the Jefferson community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Sheriff George Lee Phillips is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In NC, 205 of 664 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 30.9% of this state's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. George Lee Phillips's cause is highlighted.
How George Lee Phillips Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. George Lee Phillips is highlighted in Sep.