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Does anyone know what is the only county in the State of Georgia that is named for a woman and why ???Answer later
Honestly I didn't know any counties in Georgia, except for Macon County which I recalled when I looked at this list. http://www.georgia.gov/00/topic_index_channel/0,2092,4802_5083,00.htmlI'll say “Morgan County” was named after a women. 😕
PhidYou were almost right. Morgan was her maiden name.Hart County was named for Nancy Morgan Hart, the “War Woman”.During the Revolution, a group of Tory soldiers (differing accounts place the total number between five and seven) came by her house either looking for food or a Whig they were pursuing. The soldiers demanded that she cook them one of the turkeys in her yard before they left. She sent her daughter to the well for water and secretly instructed her to blow a conch shell to warn her husband and neighbors.She agreed to feed the Tory soldiers. As they entered the cabin, they placed their guns by the door and sat down at her table to eat. As they were drinking and eating, she was pushing their guns through the holes in the floor of her log cabin. After they had been drinking a sufficient time, she grabbed one of the guns left and threatened the men not to move. One ignored her and she killed him. Another made a move toward the stacked weapons, and was subsequently killed by Hart also. The remaining Tories were held captive until her husband, Benjamin Hart, and neighbors arrived. According to legend, her husband wanted to shoot the soldiers, but she demanded they hang. They were hanged on a nearby tree. Legend has it that she sang Yankee Doodle as they were hanged.Construction crews uncovered the Tory graves a few years ago.
Wow, that's quite an interesting story. However, was that the normal way Tory soldiers were treated? I thought it would have been a more common thing for the enemy to request/demand a meal at private residences. Also, I wonder why they didn't send the Tories to a Colonial jail or something of the sort rather than hanging them.
Phid, The Revolution in rural Ga was a bloody, no quarter given affair. The Tories that were hung had made her kill her last turkey to feed them. Also they were on the trail of her husband and his companions.Nancy had acted as a spy on occasion by playing the part of a halfwit and going into British camps. If you Google Nancy Morgan Hart there is quite a bit of info, There was another Nancy Hart who was a spy in the War Between the States. My GGG-Grandfather was involved in some of the hostilities in SC and Ga. He fought with Gen. Francis Marion and Col. Williamson. He survived the Colonial rout at Briar Creek Ga
Oh, I see – so the troops were actually trying to find her husband (I didn't catch that from the first reading). It sounds like you are pretty familiar with your family history. That's pretty good to know. Was Francis Marion the same as Mel Gibson a la The Patriot?
The character played by Mel Gibson was a composite of two Colonials, Frances Marion(The Swamp Fox) and Thomas Sumpter(The Gamecock). The British reprisals against the families of the rebels were brutal affairs. Sherman could have taken lessons from them. Remember the incident where the Brits burned the church with all the people locked inside? Those type things actually took place. There were no POW camps as such for the Rebels to imprison Brits so not many prisoners were taken. BTW Sumpter and Marion both have Ga counties named for them although they fought mostly in SC.
