Nancy Hart Cabin Courtesy of Elbert County Chamber of CommerceĪccording to contemporary accounts, “Aunt Nancy,” as she was often called, was a tall, gangly woman who towered six feet in height. Her husband, Benjamin Hart, came from a distinguished family that later produced such famous political figures as Missouri senator Thomas Hart Benton and Kentucky senator Henry Clay. She was a cousin to Revolutionary War general Daniel Morgan, who commanded victorious American forces at the Battle of Cowpens in South Carolina on January 17, 1781. Hart was well connected through family ties to many prominent figures in early American history. During the early 1770s, Hart and her family left North Carolina and made their way into Georgia, eventually settling in the fertile Broad River valley. FrontierswomanĪlthough explicit details concerning most of her life are unknown, it is widely assumed that Nancy Ann Morgan Hart was born in North Carolina, somewhere in the Yadkin River valley (although some believe that she was born in Pennsylvania), around 1735 (some say 1747). Her single-handed efforts against Tories and Indians in the Broad River frontier, as well as her covert activities as a patriot spy, have become the stuff of myth, legend, and local folklore.

A devout patriot, Hart gained notoriety during the revolution for her determined efforts to rid the area of Tories, English soldiers, and British sympathizers.

Georgia’s most acclaimed female participant during the Revolutionary War (1775-83) was Nancy Hart.

My First Ladies by Nancy Clarke