Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-11-12
NANCY HART.



The general reader may or may not
know that Hart county, in Northeast
Georgia, was named for a woman-one
ignorant of letters and the nice civilities
of life; plain, coarse, and pointed in
speech when aroused, yet she had love
of liberty and a tender regard for those
she called friends. She figured in the
days OF the Revolutionary war in Ebert
county, and did good service for her
country.
She was fearless, bold, ard aggressive,
and had selt-reliance and courage that
never forsook her in the hour of danger.
She was a great lover Of the Liberty
boys" as she called the Wings, and her
heart was bitter against the Tories and
Britains. A party of Tories, in their
hunt for some W higs, called at her house
in Ebert county aud asked to have din
ner Said Nancv Hart:
IL never feed Kings men If l can help
IL; the villains have put it out OF my pow
err To teed even my own family and friends
by stealing and killing all my poultry
and pigs, except that old gobbler you see
in the yard"
Well" said the leader OF the party,
tand that you shall cook for us, ;" and shot
down tne gobbler.
Nancy Hart used some very strong
words at the act, but in little time she
seemed to take it all as a matter of neces-
! sity and began to prepare the gobbler for
dinner. When cooked the Tories sat down
to dinner and were having good time of
it, drinking their liquor and cracking
jokes with Nancy.
The party had become merry from
drink. They had cautiously stacked their
arms where they were in view and with
in reach. Mrs. Hart would pass between
them and theiI guns in waiting on the
party. There was crack in the log cabin,
and Mrs. Hart had unobserved slipped
out two of the five muskets, when she was
caught in the act Of slipping out the third.
| The Tories sprang to their feet, and Mrs.
Hart threw the musket to her shoulder
and swore she would kill the fret man
who moved; and then told her daughter
| Sukey to blow the horn for her father to
come. AS soon as the Tories heard the
order one rushed at Mrs. Hart and was
shot dead. Selling another musket she
pointed 1t at the remaining four, when
Sukey came in and said: "Daddy and
them will be soon here" Another Tory
made an advance. and he was shot and
badly wounded. Then seizing another
musket, she called upon the three Tories
ito surrender their id Tory carcasses
to aWhig woman" f,.
They agreed to surrender, and shake
bands upon the strength OF it. But
| Nancy had no idea of letting them get
within eight feet OF her, and held them at
bay until her husband and few neigh
bqrs came up. The men wanted TO shoot
the Tories on the spot; but Nancy said
"they had surrendered to her, and that
Shooting was too good for them.o This
hint was enough; the dead man was ia
| ken out OF the house; the wounded Tory
and the others were bound and hung.
The tree upon which they were hung was
standing in 1888, and pointed out7by one
who lived in those bloody and brutal
| umeslos -.sf M IT,. fla7.- .sr
Fhe Tories showed no mercy to the
! Wings, nor did the Wings show any when
they caught Tories. Col. John Dooly, for
whom Dooly county is named, was muir
dered in his own house by Tories,
and his son, who was afterwards
the celebrated Judge Dooly, was
under the bed hid away at the
time. He was at the time 10 or II years
of age. To commemorate Nancy llart's
heroism and patriotism, Hart county was
named for her,