NANCY ANN MORGAN HART

-
Nancy Hart capturing six British soldiers in her home
  Nancy Ann Morgan Hart was born in western North Carolina in 1735. Shortly after she was born her family moved to northeastern Georgia. She was married at a young age to Benjamin Hart who was a descendant of future Tennessean and Senator from Missouri named Thomas Hart Benton. Nancy's first cousin was Revolutionary War General Daniel Morgan. As an adult woman, by her own admission, she was homely. Nancy was severely scarred by smallpox and cross-eyed. However she was a hardy frontier woman standing six foot tall, which was not only tall for a man but extremely tall for a woman then. She was an excellent shot, feisty and hot headed. My kind of woman.

  When the Revolutionary War came to her neck of the woods Nancy was an ardent Whig and patriot. The indians had a name for her, "Wahatche" or "War Woman". She wanted to rid British sympathizers and Tories from the region. Hart would disguise herself as a man and infiltrate British encampments gathering information. She was thought to have fought in the battle of Kettle Creek on February 14, 1779. Six British soldiers descended on her home one night demanding food. Nancy sat them down and began to feed them. While they were eating she grabbed her rifle and made them her prisoner. When she turned them over to the militia she demanded that they be hung for stealing her food. This story was believed by some to be a myth until six skeletons over one hundred years old were found near her home in 1912. Nancy lived with her husband and eight children in Georgia until her husband died in the late 1790's. In 1803 her oldest son moved her and the family to Henderson County Kentucky. She would die there in 1830 at the age of 95. 

   On April 17, 1865, eight days after the surrender of Robert E. Lee, Union cavalry commander Colonel Oscar LaGrange came face to face with a sturdy band of women in line of battle named the Nancy Hart Militia, aka the Nancy Harts. Believe it or not the Nancy Hart's were defending LaGrange Georgia from Colonel LaGrange's army. The Nancy Hart militia had been organized in 1861 to protect the town. The women learned drill, ceremony, battle tactics and were excellent shots. They were led by Captain Nancy Morgan. The women were heavily armed when the cavalry arrived. The Nancy Hart's however were heavily outnumbered by the Union cavalry. A meeting was arranged between Captain Morgan and Colonel LaGrange. Due to the disparity in numbers Captain Morgan agreed to surrender the town. She charmed the Colonel into sparing the town from destruction. The women also acquired food for the Union Officers and provided medical care for wounded Union and Confederate soldiers that had been wounded in a nearby battle a couple of days earlier. Because of the Nancy Hart's Militia the Union Cavalry moved on to Macon saving the town from destruction. 
Captain Nancy Morgan

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

THE DEATH OF JAYNE MANSFIELD

-
Image
Jayne Mansfield   Jayne Mansfield died way too young on June 29, 1967 at the age of 34 in a gruesome car wreck, She was killed instantly but contrary to urban legend she was not decapitated. Jayne was called the poor man's Marilyn Monroe. She had enjoyed about a four year stint of popularity on Broadway and in Hollywood from 1954 until 1958. Her career was in decline in the late 50's and early 60's but she was still popular in Europe and on the nightclub circuit. She took her last name from her high school sweetheart Paul Mansfield when she married him at the age of seventeen. Her second husband was a former Mr. Universe named Mickey Hargitay who was from Norway. The third and last husband was Matt Cimber. Mansfield was highly educated, attending Southern Methodist University, the University of Texas and U.C.L.A. She supposedly had an IQ of 163 and was called the smartest dumb blonde ever. Of course she couldn't be too smart. In 1966, a year before her death, while
Read more

NASHVILLE AND JESSE JAMES

-
Image
The James brothers with their mother Zerelda James   Most everyone has heard of the notorious outlaws Jesse and Frank James, however; did you know that they lived in Nashville from 1875 until March 1881? Jesse's oldest son Jesse James Jr. was born in Nashville along with his sister Mary. Jesse Jr. was born at 606 Boscobel Street on August 31, 1875. Mary was born on West Hamilton Road in Bordeaux on July 17, 1879. Jesse Jr. went by the name Tim and as far as he knew his last name was Howard. He and his sister would not know their real last names until after Jesse was killed in 1882. Jesse and his wife Zerelda would also lose two male twins in infancy.  Jesse's brother Frank lived on Clarksville Pike. While living there he and his wife Annie Ralston James gave birth to a son named Robert Franklin on February 6, 1877. For a time he would be dressed as a girl and go by the name of Mary. Why his parents did this I do not know.  The brothers were on the run. Nashville was
Read more

CHARLIE PARKHURST

-
Image
  Charlie Parkhurst aka One-eyed Charlie, Cockeyed Charlie, or Six Horse Charlie was born in 1812 in Vermont. Eventually he made his way out west to California where he became a teamster and one of the most skilled stagecoach drivers in history. He was small in stature but tough. Shortly after becoming a stagecoach driver for the California Stage Company he was kicked in the face by a horse and blinded in one eye. Charlie began his reputation as a tough driver when a robber named "Sugarfoot" held up his stage one day. Taken by surprise his only option was to give up his strong box. Six months later the Sugarfoot hit him again but Charlie was prepared this time. He blew him away with a shotgun at point blank range. Without blinking his good eye he rode off at a full gallop leaving the robber dead in the road.   He was an expert shot and an expert with a bull whip. Charlie could cut a cigar in half at fifteen paces while a man held it in his mouth. On one occasion he rolle
Read more