During the Revolutionary War, particularly in the rural areas of the American South, much of the violence could be attributed not to members of the military but to civilians. Even neighbors became mortal enemies depending upon whether or not they aligned themselves against or with the British Crown, and partisan bands of patriots and loyalists often roamed the countryside, causing a great deal of mayhem. On a 400-acre farmstead on the Georgia frontier in Elbert County, near the banks of the Broad River, lived the Hart family whose matriarch Nancy became a legendary figure in our national war for independence. Based on a number of tales, which probably mix both fact and fiction, Nancy Morgan Hart may very well have been her own one-woman army.
Reputed to be 6 feet tall, physically robust, and independent of spirit, Hart fit the mold required of pioneer stock. The most popular account of her heroism involves her defense of the family cabin against a half dozen Tories who were lulled into a state of mindless complacency by her feigned hospitality.
While they sampled her homemade brew, Nancy Hart sent one of her daughters off to the fields to find her husband Benjamin and managed herself to appropriate a couple of the intruders' muskets, which they had carelessly stacked in a corner. By the time that they became aware of their mistake, Nancy Hart had taken aim at her unwelcome guests, killing one and wounding another. She held the group at bay until her husband and his friends arrived. At her own request, the unfortunate loyalists, who had earlier bragged about their killing of a patriot neighbor, were hanged from an old oak tree not far from the Harts' cabin. Nancy Hart herself is said to have sung "Yankee Doodle" during their impromptu execution.
Since the details of this story varied over time with almost every telling, some have doubted its truth, but in 1912, when a railroad was being built near Elberton, Ga., workers found a grave with six human skeletons in a neat row.
During their time in South Carolina, the Harts began raising a family that eventually included eight children.
No remnants of their South Carolina residency remain. However, Nancy Morgan Hart has been memorialized in Georgia. Hart County, the town of Hartwell, and Hartwell Lake are named for her. Built in 1932, a replica of her cabin, incorporating chimney stones from the original structure, can be found in Nancy Hart Park about 12 miles south of Elberton. Kentucky also commemorates her life and legend since she moved to that state after the death of her husband to live with her son John and his family; she is buried in the Hart Family Cemetery in Henderson County, Ky.story Posted by Pharmboy
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