caption laterwork branch death_date birth_place allegiance awards battles birth_date rank image article_title name
samuel elbert governor of georgia naval gadsden flag.svg continental army jack of the united states.svg georgia state navy 1 november 1788 savannah , british province of georgia united states 1777 society of the cincinnati battle yorktown of brier creek frederica naval action siege of 1740 25px continental army major general georgia militia 15px brigadier general - samuelelbert01.jpg samuel elbert
 samuel elbert
samuel elbert

samuel elbert -lrb- 1740november 1 , 1788 -rrb- was an american merchant , soldier , and politician from savannah , georgia .
elbert fought in the revolutionary war , commanding the victorious american colonial forces in a naval battle near st. simons island , georgia on april 19 , 1778 .
he was wounded and captured at the battle of brier creek the following year , though he regained his freedom in a prisoner exchange .
he rose to the rank of major general in the georgia militia and colonel in the continental army .
he was brevetted a brigadier general after the end of the war .
in 1784 , he was elected to the united states congress , but declined to serve because he did not consider himself physically fit for the task .
he did later serve a term as the 18th governor of georgia .
elbert was a freemason .
his name appears on the 1779 masonic membership roles of solomon 's lodge no. 1 at savannah along with james jackson , governor john a. treutlen , and archibald bulloch .
elbert also served as the last provincial grand master of the first english provincial grand lodge of georgia in 1785 .
