Georgia and the Revolutionary War

Loyalists/Patriots  Loyalists/Tories/British Royalists/King’s Friends  Patriots/Whigs/Liberty Boys/ Colonials/Sons and Daughters of Liberty ..\The Liberty Boys.mht..\The Liberty Boys.mht..\The Liberty Boys.mht

Button Gwinnett Lyman Hall George Walton  Signers of the Declaration of Independence from Georgia  George Walton/youngest signer  Button Gwinnett/most valuable signature/most sought after collector’s autograph in the world ($250,000)  Lyman Hall/helped establish UGA

Button Gwinnett

 ( ) After the Governor died in 1777, Button Gwinnett served as the Acting Governor of Georgia for two months, but did not achieve reelection. His life was one of economic and political disappointment. Button Gwinnett was the second signer of the Declaration to die as the result of a duel outside Savannah, Georgia.

Lyman Hall

Lyman Hall ( )  Lyman Hall was one of four signers trained as a minister and was a graduate of Princeton College. During his life he also served as a doctor, governor and planter. During the Revolutionary War, his property was destroyed and he was accused of treason. He left Georgia and spent time in South Carolina and Connecticut to escape prosecution. When the war was over, he went back to Georgia and began to practice medicine. He served as Governor of Georgia from

George Walton Offices he held:  Continental Congress  Colonel of First Georgia Militia  Governor of Georgia  U.S. Congress  Chief Justice of Georgia  U. S. Senator

George Walton ( )—  George Walton was elected to the Continental Congress in 1776, 1777, 1780 and 1781,  Colonel of the First Georgia Militia, in 1778, Governor of Georgia from ,  Chief Justice of the State Superior Court of Georgia from , a presidential elector in 1789,  Governor of Georgia from and a United States Senator from  Governor of Georgia from and a United States Senator from

In Georgia  Most of the fighting during the American Revolution was between Georgia Patriots and Loyalists  Activities such as the Committees for Correspondence, Boston Tea Party, and the Continental Congress were supported by the Patriots

Elijah Clarke/Battle of Kettle Creek  Led rebel militia group  Defeated force of more than 800 British troops /Battle of Kettle Creek (near Washington, GA)  Important battle to GA /Patriot victory  Lifted spirits of GA militia  SHOWED GEORGIA’S RESOLVE TO RIGHT AND THERE WERE VERY FEW PATRIOT LOSSES

 Elijah Clarke was born in North Carolina in He was an active participant in the American Revolution, being wounded several times and taking part in numerous skirmishes, the most notable being when he led American militia to a victory over the British at the Battle of Kettle Creek in Georgia. When the British occupied Georgia, Clarke helped lead a guerilla warfare effort on the Georgia and South Carolina frontier.

 After the Revolution, he served in the Georgia state assembly, and continued fighting Indians on the frontier; he even illegally tried to set up an independent nation, called the Trans-Oconee Republic, on Creek lands. Though he died almost bankrupt in 1799, Georgia did honor him for his war time service by naming Clarke County for him in 1801

Austin Dabney  Freed slave/ mulatto (mixed parentage)  War hero/Battle of Kettle Creek  Took place in war for Richard Aycock  Wounded in action/received land & military pension

 According to Revolutionary lore, Nancy Hart famously outwitted a group of Tories who had invaded her home. She served them wine and, once they were drunk, filched their weapons, which she used to shoot two of the men and hold the rest captive until help arrived.

Nancy Hart  Lived near Elberton, GA with 8 kids/ husband  6 Tories stopped/forced her to cook/heard bragging of murder of Hart’s neighbor  Nancy gave them whiskey  Daughters ran for woods/sounded alarm/help  Nancy took rifles as she served meal

 Men rushed her/she killed one/held others at gunpoint until help arrived  Remains of 6 skeletons in one grave uncovered near her home in 1912 by railroad workers ..\The Nancy Hart Story.mht..\The Nancy Hart Story.mht..\The Nancy Hart Story.mht

 During the Revolutionary War, Walton was captured by the British in 1778 during the attack on Savannah and released within the year.  During the Revolutionary War, Walton was captured by the British in 1778 during the attack on Savannah and released within the year.  He was the founder of the Richmond Academy and Franklin College which later became the University of Georgia.

Siege of Savannah  December 1778  British took control of Savannah  October 1779/American & French attacked British/45 minute battle/British won/Count Pulaski (1 of America’s best foreign patriots) died with 1,000 American men  Savannah stayed in British hands 3 ½ years

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