Hart of the Rebellion

The role of women in the American Revolution is often underestimated and underappreciated. Patriot women were present—whether it was to provide moral and physical support, maintain the family farm or business, spy, or even fight. They wove much-needed clothing for the half-naked American soldiers. They supplied food to starving columns passing through towns and farms. During an eight-year struggle, patriotic mothers sent many young men and boys into the ranks. In addition to longing for and fighting for liberty, every American soldier yearned to return home to their family and wife. One could say these women were the heart of the rebellion.

The distaff side was critical to the war effort.

Ann Hart is one such woman. Born Ann Morgan in 1735, the exact date remains unknown. Her precise birthplace isn't certain either, but it's believed to be somewhere in Pennsylvania or North Carolina. Names were tricky back then, and diminutives were common. Ann Hart was no exception, often called "Nancy," a popular nickname for Ann at that time. According to accounts from her contemporaries, Nancy was an imposing figure, over six feet tall, well-built, and red-haired. She was known for her fearlessness; the local Cherokees even called her Wahatche, meaning war woman. 

The Cherokee called her War Woman

By the time of the War for Independence, Ann Morgan had married Benjamin Hart, and the couple settled along the Broad River in Wilkes County, Georgia, where land was fertile, affordable, and plentiful. The year was 1771. Ann was relatively old when they married—thirty-six. Despite that, she gave birth to two daughters and six sons.

The cabin on the Broad River

Nancy, the frontierswoman, couldn't read or write. Still, she was smart, resourceful, and had all the "learnin'" a frontier woman needed. She knew her herbs well and could hunt and prepare any game. Nancy was an excellent shot with a rifle or musket, despite being cross-eyed. No easy feat.

Nancy was a resourceful backcountry woman

As rumor and legend often clash with known facts, I should mention that Nancy is believed to be a relative of the famed explorer Daniel Boone. She was also a cousin to Daniel Morgan, the well-known leader of the Virginia and Pennsylvania riflemen's corps and winner of the Battle of the Cowpens (1781).

Colonel Dan Morgan

After they moved to Georgia, Benjamin joined a Georgian militia regiment. Nancy also became a committed patriot and fought her own battle against Georgia Loyalists.

Benjamin joined the Georgia militia

Nancy was feisty and quick-tempered, according to accounts, and she ran the Hart household with an iron will and an iron fist. So, when Benjamin Hart went off to follow the drum, Nancy was the perfect woman to "hold the fort." Ironically, the drum soon would follow her. 

The British retook the breakaway colony of Georgia in 1779 as the starting point of their "Southern Strategy." British occupation did not always mean British control, especially in the northeast backcountry of Georgia, where locals had been squaring off with the Cherokee for years. The American fight for independence was also a civil war, and unlike the 18th-century wars in Europe, civilians played a role throughout.

Battle of Kettle Creek by Jeff Trexler

According to reports from both first and second sources, Nancy was variously a spy against the British forces in the area, a sniper of the same (she was reputed to be a crack shot), and an occasional combatant. Because of her size, it would have been easy for Nancy to dress in men's clothing and slip into British camps, as is alleged. Pretending to be crazy, she would observe activities and listen to conversations before slipping away and reporting back to local patriot militia leaders. 

Spying on the British

Also reputed to be a sniper, she may have taken long-range shots at Loyalist and British patrols, couriers, and convoys trying to cross the Broad River. The war in the South had turned vicious, and sniping and ambushes, which were frowned upon in 18th-century warfare, became common in the Carolinas and Georgia.

Lady sniper

The British and their supporters probably suspected the strange woman, as they kept a close watch on her activities and often visited the farm to gather food or check on things. In one incident, Nancy was making soap in their cabin when one of her daughters spotted a Loyalist spying on them through a crack in the wall. When she told Nancy, the fiery redhead hurled a ladle of boiling lye through the gap, burning his eyes. As he howled in pain, the angry farm woman rushed out, overwhelmed him, and tied him up. She later turned him over to the local patriot militia.

In another account, Nancy was bringing grain to the local mill when a gang of cowboys (Loyalist raiders) pulled her from her saddle and threw her to the ground. As they rode off with her horse, Nancy brushed off the dirt and carried her heavy grain bag to the mill on foot. 

Cowboys terrorized patriot homesteads

Some accounts claim our southern hellfire happened at the 1779 Battle of Kettle Creek, but that is just speculation. However, her most famous deed seems right on target. A half-dozen Loyalist militiamen showed up at her farm, stopping for food while chasing a rebel. They demanded Nancy prepare a turkey. Since they were armed and ready to punish a patriot wife, she had no choice but to comply. 

But the Loyalists made one big mistake. They neatly stacked their muskets near the door when they entered the cabin to sit at the dinner table. Nancy went to work setting the table and getting the food ready. She slipped some of the muskets through a hole in the cabin wall. Nancy kept the food and drinks coming, and once the men were sufficiently drunk, she grabbed one of the muskets she had left in the cabin and pointed it at her visitors.

Turning muskets on the Loyalists

Glaring at them with a loaded Brown Bess, she ordered them not to move. Refusing to be taken by a woman (and under the influence), one Loyalist made a move on her. That's all it took. Nancy squeezed the trigger, and the hammer slammed into the pan, igniting the powder and sending a lead plug into his chest. 

Another Loyalist lunged at her, but Nancy grabbed another musket and shot him. She had little trouble convincing the others to stay seated at the table until help arrived. When her neighbors and husband showed up, they decided to shoot the prisoners. But Nancy refused, insisting they be hung from a nearby tree.

Nancy demanded the Loyalists be hanged

This story was confirmed in the early 19th century when the remains of about a dozen men were dug up at the farm—four with broken necks. Like many Americans, the post-war era was a time of change and moving. In the late 1790s, Nancy and her husband moved their family to Brunswick, Georgia. 

When Benjamin died there in 1800, Nancy chose to return to her old home on the Broad River. Sadly, their cabin had been washed away by a flood. With the farmhouse gone, she moved in with one of her sons, John Hart, and his family along the Oconee River in Clarke County near Athens, Georgia. 

In 1803, Nancy moved with John’s family to Henderson County, Kentucky, to be close to relatives. She spent the rest of her life there. When she died in 1830 at age 93, Nancy was buried in the family plot.

Nancy's gravestone

Our "Hart of the South" was honored by the state she worked so hard to help free. A highway, city, lake, and county in Georgia are named for her. The Daughters of the American Revolution marked her bravery by placing a replica of her cabin on the Broad River, built with some of the original stones.

Nancy Hart Monument, Hart Co., GA

Cold and Stalemate at Whitemarsh

This week marked the anniversary of Whitemarsh: the final part of the third year of the American fight for independence. For several cold winter days, rebels and redcoats marched and counter-marched as General George Washington aimed to lure British General Howe into an end-of-year disaster.

Background

General William Howe

General William Howe's Philadelphia campaign of 1777 was one of move, lose, move, lose for George Washington and the Continental Army. Despite that, Howe and the British high command remained frustrated because the rebel army and its general continued to remain a force they would need to reckon with if winter quarters were to be enjoyed in peace and comfort. 

Despite his failed surprise attack on Germantown on 4 October, Washington remained unbeaten. He maneuvered his forces from post to post, ultimately settling in at a place called Whitemarsh, about 13 miles northwest of Philadelphia. Both Howe and Washington knew that an unbeaten American force in the field remained a psychological as well as a real threat to British success. 

So in early December, Howe decided to make one last attempt to destroy Washington's army before the onset of winter and began preparations for the attack on the rebel forces rumored to be in the process of moving to a new camp. But Washington's intelligence network, led by Major John Clark, became aware of British plans to surprise the Americans, possibly through a Quaker housewife, Lydia Darragh. Because of the timely, accurate intelligence, regardless of the source, the Continental Army was ready.

Lydia Darragh was a Phila. nurse
and the housewife said to have warned
Washington of British plans

Ready for Action

Undaunted by weeks of retreat, Washington and his men prepared for battle. Washington faced pressure from Congress due to defeats at Brandywine and Germantown and aimed to make amends before the campaign ended. He always pictured a Breed's Hill-style fight where his troops would break British lines with heavy fire from fortified positions. For their part, his men were eager for a chance to vent their frustrations on the 'lobsters.' 

The Americans had ample time to strengthen their defenses, so despite being cold, exhausted, and hungry, they were ready to act and seek retribution. Washington positioned them on high ground—another Breed's Hill scenario seemed possible. Meanwhile, Howe planned to give the rebels the fight they craved. The British hoped for a swift, decisive victory over the struggling rebels before winter arrived, as he too faced troubles of his own.

And Vindication

A British Army capitulated at Saratoga in October—an army many believed Howe was obliged to help. Defeating Washington would be a sweet victory. Both Howe and Washington were overshadowed by the recent devastating British surrender at Saratoga. Howe for not doing more to support Gen. John Burgoyne, the defeated British commander, during the ill-fated invasion from Canada. Washington himself was criticized by some in Congress and the Army who questioned his leadership.

British surrender at Saratoga had
both Washington and Howe in its shadow

The Action

The British and Hessians left Philadelphia at midnight on a bitterly cold December 4th, with 14,000 troops. Howe moved his men in two columns. One, led by Lord Cornwallis, headed up Germantown Pike. The second, commanded by Hessian General Knyphausen, marched toward the American left. Just before dawn on December 5th, they arrived at Chestnut Hill, where they encountered about 15,000 Americans ready for action. 

Attempting to provoke a fight, Washington sent the Pennsylvania militia toward Howe's left. The militia was repelled after a short but intense fight. This led to days of maneuvering by Howe's forces, who attempted to find an opening in Washington's defenses through various feints and marches. The Continentals and militia responded well. Washington's men were prepared and managed to prevent any potential breakthrough. 

Frustrated, the British burned homes and farms, fueling resistance among a populace that was almost subdued by the British advance. Howe launched a final effort to turn the American left flank on December 7th. He advanced forces along Edge Hill, a ridge running parallel to the American lines. But the Americans, including militia and Virginia riflemen under Dan Morgan, responded. After intense fighting, the Americans were again pushed back, but the British retreated. 

This started a long day of small, sharp, yet inconclusive skirmishes throughout the wooded ridge, with no clear outcome. Frustrated at neither breaching the American defenses nor luring them into an open battle, Howe decided to withdraw. He led his army back to Philadelphia. Washington also felt frustrated, as his hope of luring Howe into a second Breed's Hill never materialized. The casualties for Whitemarsh were 90 Americans killed or wounded, and 60 British killed or wounded.

Howe at Whitemarsh

A Winter of Stalemate

Whitemarsh marked the end of the long and eventful campaigns of 1777. Howe and his army are secure in comfortable winter quarters in Philadelphia. A few days later, on December 11, Washington leads his army into the cold comfort of winter quarters at Valley Forge. The uneventful battle at Whitemarsh is unremarkable on its face. But in retrospect, the inconclusive series of skirmishes set the stage for the famous winter at Valley Forge that marked the birth of a professional American Army. As for Sir William Howe, his request for relief was approved, and he would leave the Army the following spring.

Stalemate at Whitemarsh was the last action
before George Washington led his army to
a place called Valley Forge